Golden Silence
by brightteyes
Summary: Amber moves to Castle Rock and becomes friends with Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy and soon enough, things start to change in all their minds. Teddy/OC
1. The Secret of Ray Brower

I stared into the van's reflection of my face and frowned. Earlier, I had a giant black ring around my entire left eye. I made the mistake of not getting to my father fast enough…again. I had torn through my boxes and bags in the back of the van, searching for some sort of make-up to cover up the bruises across my face. I ripped open my light purple bag and found my stash of make-up. I threw a pound of cover up on my face and here I was, standing in front of my father's van in Castle Rock Oregon who knows how many miles away from my home in Chicago. I had lived in more of the dangerous areas of Chicago, where you could buy a gun or drugs from just about anybody. Girls had tattoos and babies all before turning seventeen and boys lost their virginity by ten years old. I lived with my father that hit me nearly every night and raped me every so often and a mother that drank her life away and had basically no cares in the world except where she was getting her booze that day. I was only thirteen and life was hell on fucking earth. I had no siblings which made things pretty lonely most of the time. I had a few friends, nobody knew that happened after I closed my front door and ran up to my room, only for it to be stormed in by my furious father for "coming home too late" and having punches thrown into my sight, making everything fade to black. I mostly walked the school hallways alone, never having anyone wanting to get to know me.

We ended up moving to Castle Rock because my parents lost our fucking house, after my mom spent all the money we were saving on more alcohol. Boy, did I get cracked for that one…my mother's fucking mistake. I hated my parents; if you could even call them that…they were just two fucking idiotic people that I happened to live with. We moved here the Tuesday after Labor Day and I didn't see anyone out.

"Amber, get your shit out of my van." My dad commanded. I sighed and turned away from my reflection. I gathered all my bags and veered towards my new "home", yeah right. It was surrounded by huge trees and had siding missing all over. The house next to it looked identical. I sighed and finally realized this was where I was gonna have to live…even if I didn't necessarily like it. I slowly walked towards it and stomped up the front steps. We just _had_ to move to the crappiest part of town, didn't we? I grabbed the door and yanked it open. The inside looked just as bad as the outside, if not worse. I groaned as I climbed the stairs and entered the room at the end of the hallway. This was my room…I didn't give a flying fuck…dibs were mine! I opened the door and a loud creak sounded. I rolled my eyes, I already hated this place. There was already a mattress lying on a wimpy bed frame. _Whatever._ I thought and placed my bags on the bed and sat down, sinking into the mattress. The curtains fluttered as the end of summer wind wisped through the open window. I needed to get out, go for a walk or something. I hopped back down the stairs and out the door. I brushed past my dad and he looked at me, confused.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Anywhere." I responded. "As long as it's away from you." I added under my breath.

"No, you're staying here."

"No, I'm not." I fought back and scurried off before he could reply. I was gonna get beat whipped pretty bad for that one, but what else was new?

I must have been walking for at least ten minutes before I saw something, high up in a large tree. I inched closer and realized it was a tree house. It didn't seem like anyone was in it…I began climbing up the tree into the mini-house. I opened the hatch and was then inside. It looked so cool…I'd never been in a tree house before. I noticed a radio in a corner, I wandered over towards it and pushed the button, turning it on. Rockin' Robin immediately filled my ears and the entire clubhouse. I noticed there were ashtrays all around...who were these people. But, there was a certain thing I enjoyed about being in that tree house. It was calming, like nothing bad could ever happen…I was miles high above everybody else. Suddenly, the door burst open, followed by a voice hollering, "God dammit! Did that wet end Vern leave that fucking-" The voice immediately halted when he saw me. He had a pair of huge coca-cola glasses on, his hair was blonde-ish and his left ear looked as it was made of wax. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds until I spoke, "Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't know, anyone, used this…" He half-smiled and had a very unique laugh: eee-eee-eeee!

"It's fine. I'm Teddy…you are?"

"Amber," I answered. He nodded and sat down, pulling out a lighter and cigarette.

"This is where me, Gordie, Vern, and Chris all hang-out." He explained with a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth. I nodded silently and kept looking at his ear. What the fuck happened to it…? He kept looking at me, eyes all squinty, blowing out cigarette smoke.

"You have cool eyes." He suddenly blurt out. I blushed. My eyes were a light green/yellow and everyone complimented on them.

"Thanks," I answered. He was wearing big army boots and dogtags. As if he read my mind, he explained, "My dad stormed the beach in Normandy." He touched the dogtags around his neck. "How 'bout you?"

"Oh, my dad, uhm…is okay." I lied. He was a fucking basterd. Teddy kept starring at me, knowing I was lying. Then, the door opened and another kid appeared.

"Teddy, I'm gonna-" He stopped as soon as he saw me. "Oh, Teddy. Who's your friend?" This boy was rather tall and had short, blonde hair.

"This is Amber, she followed me here…" Teddy said, very seriously. I half-smiled and opened my mouth.

"That's not how it happened!" I laughed. Teddy nodded, sarcastically and the other boy laughed, keeping his eyes on me.

"I'm Chris," He said, holding out a hand. I high-fived him instead and said, "As you already know, I'm Amber." Teddy laughed as he blew smoke out of his mouth.

"So Amber," Chris started as he sat down across from me, shuffling a deck of cards. "Where'd you come from?"

"Chicago."

Soon enough, we started up a conversation, laughing and enjoying the moment. The hatched opened again and in popped another.

"Gordie, this is Amber." Chris elbowed him and Gordie looked and smiled, slyly.

"It's been awhile since there's been a girl up here." Gordie smiled and plopped down next to Teddy, who pulled out another cigarette and searched for the lighter. He found it and smiled. He was just about to light it when I felt courageous and stole it from his fingers, along with the lighter. I placed it in my mouth and lit it. All their eyes were on me, smirks spread across their faces. I tossed the lighter back to Teddy, who caught it single-handedly.

"What?" I asked with a laugh. "Haven't you ever seen a girl smoke before?" They all looked at each other, with huge smiles. Teddy laughed his laugh and exclaimed, "This is our kind of girl!" He placed an arm around me and continued, "She's one of us now!" He rubbed his knuckles against the top of my head. I pushed him away, laughing. Just then, a knock was heard.

"Guys, let me in." A voice whined.

"Ugh. Vern." Gordie mumbled. Chris opened the door and alittle boy climbed in complaining something about some guy named Ray Brower. All their heads snapped towards the boy and then back at me. I was so confused.

"She oughta know now…" Chris finally said.

"Way to go Vern…you wet end." Teddy hissed. He pretended to punch him, which caused Vern to flinch.

"Hah! Two for flinching!" Teddy smirked, followed by punching Vern twice.

"Wait, what's going on?" I questioned. Everyone was silent.

"Can you keep a secret?" Teddy asked, with a squinty-eyed look. I nodded slowly and they told the story of how they found the body of Ray Brower.


	2. A brand new family

Chapter 2:

"…and we haven't spoken of it 'til now." Gordie concluded. I was dumbfounded and speechless.

"Holy shit." I finally mumbled.

"You can't tell you anyone this…its stays between us five." Teddy added.

"I swear." I promised and held up my right hand.

"Wait a minute, who is this girl? I don't even know her name." Vern said.

"Her name's Amber," Chris causally said and began lying down cards. I nodded and continued: "I just moved here from Chicago."

"Oh cool." Vern replied. It was silent for a few seconds, nothing to say.

"When do you guys start school?" I finally questioned.

"Tomorrow. Are you goin' in eighth grade too?" Gordie stated.

"Yeah." They all nodded and I noticed a small smile spread across Chris' face and he nudged Gordie.

"Guys, I was digging for my pennies, when I think I heard Charlie and Ace talking about Ray." Vern admitted.

"What were they sayin' Vern-o?" Teddy asked, slapping down his cards. "I knock!"

"Just stuff about what happened when they found us…I think they also said they're gonna hurt us..really bad…guys, I'm afraid. What if it's all that goocher stuff!" Vern said, worriedly.

"Vern! Don't be such a pussy! Like I said, that goocher stuff is a load of bullshit!" Teddy yelled, annoyed.

"Goocher?" I asked.

"It's when you get all tails when you flip coins." Chris explained, rolling his eyes at Vern.

"Oh, I heard of that. That's such a load of crap! If something bad is gonna happen, its not caused by flipping fucking coins, you idiot!" I hollered at Vern. Teddy began cracking up: Eeee-eee-eeeee! Soon, everyone was laughing hysterically, holding our stomachs. Finally, we all caught our breath and I wiped the water running from my eyes. Vern glared at all of us.

"Ahh, Teddy…your laugh is priceless." I laughed.

"That's Teddy Duchamp for 'ya." Chris smiled at me. It was a weird sort of smile that made me blush and I turned away, smiling, feeling my face turn warm and red. Chris gave off this bad boy, tough guy image, but his smile and eyes said something different: fear. His eyes looked as if they were terrified and there was no light at the end of the tunnel, nothing to live for anymore. I wondered if any of the others saw it, or was it just me who could see through him.

"Amber," I looked up and there that same look was spread across Chris' face. I studied it for a moment, craving for anymore knowledge. "Amber!" I came back to reality and all the boys were staring at me, as if waiting for an answer.

"What?" I questioned, scanning all of their faces.

"I asked if you had any brothers or sisters.." Chris explained. "Do you?"

"Oh, uhm, no, well, at least none I know about…" I mumbled/

"What do you mean?" Gordie asked, with confusion. By this time, all the boys had put down their cards and listened in.

"I mean, like, when I was little, there was always this older guy that lived with us. I never knew who he was, but he always fought with my parents. Then, I woke up one day with all of his things gone..along with himself. I've always wondered if he was my brother or not. I'm too afraid to ask, though." I told them.

I remembered the nights I would stay up, just listening to that boy fight with my dad. I used to count how many "fucks" I heard. The most I ever counted to was about ten or twelve, but that was only because I didn't know how to count past twelve. There were always a billion after twelve. Sometimes it scared me that I would just hear a "bang!", race out of bed, and find that boy surrounded in a puddle of his own blood, dead. But, it never did get that bad. When the yelling was over and silence swallowed the house, dad would come in my room, sitting down on my bed. I'd be pretending to sleep, to scared to tell daddy how I _really_ felt. He'd brush the hair out of my face and comb it through his fingers, kissing my forehead.

"I love you, sweetie." He'd sometimes whisper into my ear, letting me hear the sobs in his voice. Then, he'd leave the room, leaving me to cry because I didn't want daddy to be mad and upset at that boy. Sometimes I'd cry until I had hiccups and waited for the sun to begin the day.

"Why are you afraid to ask?" Vern calmly asked. I looked down at my fingers and felt tiny sobs beginning.

"My parents changed after that boy left..everything changed." I quietly said. I remember daddy screaming at me, the way he did to that boy, the day he left. Daddy grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to the back of the house, beating on me, silencing me with his hand cupped over my mouth. I've never seen so much anger in someone's eyes before, but it also contained fear, mostly fear. It was the same thing I saw in Chris' eyes. That was the first time daddy beat me and raped me.

"Daddy, why!" I softly shrieked as he slapped me across the face. He grabbed me and pulled me towards his face, staring his eyes directly into mine.

"You'll understand one day, Princess." He whispered and I saw that fear in eyes once more. He kissed my cheek and placed me on the floor, racing out of the room and out of the house as quick as possible. Mommy was gone and daddy had now disappeared. I cried out in pain, hoping somebody could come save me, but it was dark by the time mommy came home, but she reeked of alcohol and slammed her door shut, as I tired to tell her and hug her.

I looked back up at all their faces, tears were now streaming down my cheeks. All their faces were the same: washed with concern. I quickly looked back down and wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"It's okay Amber," Teddy softly reassured, placing an arm around me and squeezing my tighter to himself. "'Cause you have us now…"

"Yeah, you've got us." Chris smiled and placed a hand on my arm, rubbing it. I continued wiping the water from my cheeks. I looked up at them again and suddenly remembered my cover-up and the bruises. I forced myself to stop crying and quickly wiped the remaining tears off my face, onto my hands. They couldn't know, they just couldn't. They all had hope on their faces, with tiny half-smiles.

"Sorry I'm bein' such a pussy." I commented. They all laughed.

"Don't worry Amber," Chris started. "There's a pussy inside all of us.." That smile again.

"That did _so_ not sound right, Chambers." Teddy snorted. Gordie snickered.

"Wait, I don't get it…" Vern said, flatly. Teddy pretended to punch him again and of course, Vern flinched. Teddy punched him twice, with his laugh: Eeee-eee-eeeee!

"C'mon Teddy, stop doin' that!" Vern whined. Soon, they were wrestling in the tree house and somehow Gordie got involved. Chris and I studied them, laughing.

"Do they always do this?" I asked finally calming.

"Pretty much." Chris responded, looking towards me. I nodded and looked back towards them all fighting. I felt Chris still looking at me and slowly glanced back at him, only for him to give me that smile again. God dammit. That smile held so many emotions in it all at once. I blushed and looked back down at my fingers. Maybe they _were _right, maybe I didn't need my "family"…they would be everything I would ever need. My heart sped up at the thought of having them as my everything...and I knew nothing I had ever known has ever made me feel this way before. I felt so strong and knew this couldn't be wrong.


	3. Parents and lies

Chapter 3:

We realized what time it was by the sound of Vern's stomach growling.

"I better get home for dinner." Vern interrupted.

"Yeah, me too." Gordie agreed. Teddy, Chris, and I stayed put, not saying anything. Gordie and Vern exited the tree house and headed towards their homes, where a nice, warm dinner would be waiting.

"Do you gotta go too?" Teddy questioned me, nudging me with his elbow.

"No…my parents couldn't careless if I was home for dinner or not.." I said, looking back down. Teddy studied me for a second, before speaking, "Amber?" I didn't look up.

"Yeah." I answered.

"How do your parents treat you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. But, I knew _exactly_ what he meant.

"I mean, do they you like they're supposed to treat their daughter?" Why wouldn't he just ask if they were beating me? Was it _that_ hard to say? I was silent, not knowing how to respond. Chris was now looking worried, so I had to think of an excuse and quick.

"I guess..My mom drinks a lot... and my dad..." I choked on the word _dad_. Everyone was silent for about a minute or too, the boys waiting for me to go on. When I didn't, Teddy questioned, "You dad…?" with a frown, moving a tad bit closer to me.

"My dad is just, okay." I finally got out. Teddy and Chris were silent, eyeing me very closely.

"I don't believe you..." Teddy admitted. Damn. I never had been a good liar and he could tell. I couldn't tell them the truth though; my dad would literally _kill_ me.

"That's your problem then." I snapped. If being mean was the only way to keep my secrets, secrets then so be it.

"Not if you're lying..." Teddy mumbled under his breath. I rolled my eyes, I was _not_ getting into a fight with the people that immediately took me in and were nice.

"Guy, lets get outta here before someone says something they regret." Chris offered. Teddy agreed and stood to his feet. He looked down at me, through his thick glasses. He held out a hand, while saying, "C'mon, let's get out of here." I took his hand and he helped me to my feet and we all climbed down the ladder. I had no idea how to get back home.

"Fuck." I said under my breath. Chris looked at me.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't remember how to get back home..." I mumbled. I heard Teddy snicker softly. Chris then began laughing.

"Whatever. I'll just, find it, eventually." I said, with annoyance and began heading the way I had come earlier.

"Wait," Chris' voice hollered. He and Teddy caught up with me. "We'll help you. Alright?" I nodded, without looking at them. We were silent for a little while, just walking. We came upon a few homes and slowed.

* Chris' POV *

We came to Teddy's house and stopped.

"Does any of this look familiar?" I asked and looked over at Amber. She shook her head.

"Well it does to me," Teddy interrupted. Amber looked at him, confused. "It's my house. I'll catch up with you guys later?" I nodded and so did Amber.

"Bye Chris," He called out to me. "Bye Amber." He said more slowly and looked at her, with an indescribable look. She waved and smiled. He smiled back and turned around, walking towards his house, but then quickly whipped back around.

"Oh yeah! School starts tomorrow. Amber, will I see you there?" He shouted. I glanced over at her and she was nodding.

"Yeah!" She called back.

"Cool!" He yelled, excitedly and continued back to his home. Amber and I paced on, searching for her house.

A small, very small, part of me was happy Amber didn't leave by Teddy. It was too difficult to explain exactly. We walked in silence as we began approaching my house.

"Does it look familiar now?" I quietly asked. She didn't respond, so I looked over at her. She was mute and was staring hard at the ground with a flat face, something she did when she was nervous, I could already tell.

"Yeah," She softly whispered, so quietly, I had to strain to listen.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Why was she so upset?

"I don't wanna go inside Chris; I hate it in there with them..." She finally said. I instantly felt bad because I knew _exactly _how she felt. That's how I felt everyday of my life. Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. _Does her father beat her too?_ I wanted to ask so badly, but I couldn't just ask her that. It would put her on the spot and she'd get all nervous and shit. I couldn't do that.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I live right next to you..." I chuckled and she looked up at me and smiled.

"That's so cool!" She exclaimed. "I've always wanted to live next door to a boyfriend!" That shocked me and I felt my face get flustered and she saw it.

"Oh, I mean. Like, a friend, that's a guy...sorry...my bad..." She explained with a blush spreading across her entire face. I laughed, trying to let her know it didn't feel awkward...even though it was.

"We don't have to go inside right now. We can sit out here and talk." I offered. She agreed and we sat on the grass, facing our houses.

*Amber's POV *

Chris and I were sitting by our houses, just talking. Then, suddenly, someone yanked opened Chris' front door and stood there, squinting over at us.

"Chris?" A voice slurred. "Get your ass inside right _now_!" Chris sighed, but didn't budge.

"I hate him Amber...my father..." He started, but then choked out the rest. "You know," He stopped again. "He fucking hits me." He finished off, with a soft whisper. I knew it. That was Chris' secret...his dad beat him, just like mine. How could he just admit it like that? That same look in his eyes that were in my father's eyes was fear, fear for everything. Getting hit too hard one time, losing me just like he had that other boy...anything. I looked over at Chris, who was just staring out ahead.

"Chris, nobody deserves to be hided…especially not you. I'm so sorry. I know-" I cut myself off. Shit. I almost let it slip. Chris studied me, knowing I had more to say but didn't force it out.

"You fucking basterd! Your ass better be in here in the next minute or I'll…" The voice trailed off. Chris sighed and stood up, helping me up as well. We started towards our houses and Chris looked at me once more when we were both on our porches.

"Your right, nobody deserves to get hided." He said, half-smiling. "I'll be over here if you need somebody…bye Amber."

"Bye Chris." I responded with a smile. He stood there, smiling and then walked inside. I stood there, remembering what I had said: _Nobody deserves to get hided..._

Why could I give advice to others yet not take my own? I sighed and opened the door to my "home" and expected what was going to happen no matter whose advice I would take.


	4. A basterd and an Angel

Chapter 4

I looked around, searching for any traces of my dad. It was pretty silent and I faintly heard a noise which sounded like bottles clinking together. I let the door come to a close quietly and tried to get up the stairs, into my room. I scurried through the dark hallway, towards the end of it and saw a figure standing in my doorway. I halted and waited, I don't know why I was waiting. Nothing special was going to happen. Maybe I just thought something had finally clicked in my father's mind and he would just wrap his arms around my frail body, hug and kiss me, explaining he was sorry and loved me and would never hurt me again. Very often, when we hit me, I saw that look on his face when he heard my shrieks and yelps. It heart broke me to see him like that because deep down in my heart, I knew he still loved me like he once had before when I was little. But, the thing that made me even more upset was that, I _still_ loved him, even thought he would do terrible things to me everyday. I loved him so much and yet, I hated him so much. And I never knew which emotion was stronger: love or hatred.

I began walking towards my doorway, knowing he would be there, waiting for me.

"Amber," He firmly said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me into my room, which was pitch black. His grip hurt me, but I didn't show it…where would it get me? "I'm not ever happy with you…" He breathed in my face. It smelled completely of alcohol. He was drunk, which meant it wouldn't be that miserable tonight because he usually couldn't get his balance and ended up crashing on my floor after falling over. I was silent.

"You just ran off, you little bitch…" He whispered into my face, followed by a shove backwards. He lunged forward and punched me hard against the cheek. It caused me to fall down, clutching my face with tiny whimpers. I already tasted blood. Maybe this _would_ be a bad beating. He yanked my shirt collar and pulled me back up to his face, only for him to swear at me more and call me cuss words.

"You fucking worthless piece of shit!" He yelled at my face, shaking me with both hands, clenching my arms. "I hate you!" He threw me across the room, still with all the lights off. I crashed into that fucking mattress and screamed. My ribs ached and more blood soaked my gums and tongue. I curled into a ball and ran my fingers along my rib cage, praying none had snapped. He stomped over to me and began kicking my body all over: the head, neck, stomach legs. Anything he knew would hurt me. He gave a good, hard kick to my pelvic area and I felt immediate pain. I sucked in a huge breath and began crying even harder. I felt as if something had just been stabbed into me and I was dying. I tried crawling somewhat away from him, but he just pulled me by my hair, so I wouldn't be able to get further away. I went back into my ball position and faced the open window. I could see Chris' house. He knew exactly what I was experiencing and I remembered the advice I had told him. I wondered if he had told his old man to fuck off yet. That is what I needed to do, too. I had to, this pain was unbearable. He raced closer to me and picked me up by my head. I tried to pull away but that caused him to pull harder on my neck and it hurt even more. He threw my face back into the wooden floor and backed away. He hated me._ I_ fucking hated him. I held my neck, feeling the pain throbbing throughout the entire thing.

"You slimy basterd…" I heard myself whisper. He stayed where he was, I don't think he heard. He sighed heavily and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. My whole body ached with pain. I felt like dying. Why should I even try going on with life? I should just let him kill me. I sat up, feeling the misery my body was in. I managed to limp onto my bed and sunk in. The moonlight shun onto me. I knew I looked horrible. I would get out of this place later, after they were passed out. I would put my make-up on and walk somewhere, covering up the truth.

Only after an hour or two passes, the entire house completely silenced. I decided to go see what I looked like. I entered the bathroom to get the full view. My face had a red mark on my cheek, under my black eye, other than that, it did look bad. I grabbed my cover-up, opened it, and began. But, as I stared at that girl in the mirror, I saw how helpless she looked, it made me sick. I was pathetic. Tears fell down my face but I managed to quickly put the cover-up on. I needed to do this in case anybody saw me. I just couldn't take the risk. I finished and quietly sneaked downstairs and slipped out the door.

The night was cool and re-freshing. My sneakers squeaked as I walked through a few puddles, but I made it to the tree house in a few minutes. I was more familiar with the way to it now. I climbed up the ladder and was surprised by what I saw. Teddy was lying on his back, reading a comic book, with a cigarette in his mouth. He jerked his head over to me and looked shocked,

"Damn, you really _are_ following me…" He laughed. "What you doin' here? It's late."

"I could ask you the same thing…" I replied, sitting down across from, trying not to show my pain. He sat up and placed his comic on the pile with the others.

"I couldn't sleep and got bored." He explained, while crushing his cigarette out. "You?"

"I just needed to get away…" I responded. He nodded and we just stared at each other in silence. I always hated when there were those, silent awkward moments. I turned away, embarrassed and giggled. Teddy smiled back and sighed, over-dramatically. I shifted my position so I was leaning back on my hands and stretching my legs out in front of me. I looked up, examining the tree house and I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Teddy inching closer, squinting through his glasses, at me.

"What you lookin' at?" I asked.

"Amber, what happened to your neck?" Teddy questioned very slowly, eyeing me with a very serious look. I remembered my dad groped my neck. Had he held me so hard that there were bruises? And if so, how had I missed them? _No way. _I pulled my collar up, hiding the marks.

"Nothing…" I mumbled and sat up, bringing my knees close to my chest.

"Amber, those were bruises…what the fuck happened? They weren't there a couple of hours ago." He urged. He just wouldn't let it go.

"I fell down the stairs..." I quickly lied. I needed to change the subject before I said something. "So, how long have you four had this tree house?" Teddy's face was unreadable but he answered anyway: "We all built it a few years back. By ourselves. We all decided we needed a cool place to hang out at, and thus, this tree house was created."

"That's so neat. Back in Chicago, there used to be this place called The Shack. It was just this hangout place everybody went to to smoke weed and shit…it was always getting raided by the cops though." I replied. I remembered The Shack. So many things happened there, some good and some bad.

"I've always wondered what that green stuff felt like to smoke…" Teddy admitted.

"Trust me; you're not missing out on anything special."

"You've smoked weed before?" Teddy asked, shocked.

"Yeah! Damn, you really _have_ never seen any girl smoke before, have you?"

"Well, no…'cause all the girls in this town are all stupid bitches that never wanna have any fun…" I laughed. "Well, all the girls, except you…you're pretty cool." Teddy smiled at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Pass me a cig." I stated. Teddy pulled out the pack in his back pocket and gave one to me and tossed me the lighter. He eyed me with a smirk. He pulled himself out one and lit it. He blew out a breath of smoke and studied me.

"You know, this is random, but, your hair color goes good with your eyes…" He smiled and his face was a little red. That made me smile, really big because nobody ever said positive things about my hair and eyes combination. I had light brown hair that fell a bit past my shoulders. People were always saying: _If you only had red hair, your eyes would be so much prettier. _

"Thanks," I grinned. It made me feel really good and special inside, something I hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"Don't be embarrassed," He laughed. I hadn't realized the blush that was spread across my entire face. I laughed it away and we were silent. Again. The silence reminded me of the silence that covered my house, like a giant blanket.

"You know," I began. "Sometimes I just wish I could get away…away from all the crap that deals with my parents. I wish I could just float high above everyone else, not having to worry about any bad things happening…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Like, if you could just escape the thing you call life, maybe things would be okay…if your dad wasn't some guy everyone thought was a madman…and burned your ear off, Maybe, just maybe things would be different…" I was shocked. I never knew that this Teddy Duchamp could be so deep. And we just opened all up to me, even though we hadn't even known each other for more than a day. I looked over at him and saw the tears falling from his eyes. He was trying to wipe them away quickly, trying not to let me see what a "pussy" he was being, but the tears were just coming out harder.

"Teddy," I whispered and crawled over to him, not knowing if I should touch him or not. I finally decided to wrap an arm around his shoulders and lean my head against his. I felt his sobs falling and I felt his breaths shortening and quickening as he cried harder.

"He's not a bad guy really," He cried. "He's a good fucking man…people just don't know him." He sobbed harder and took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes.

"Teddy," I continued. "I believe you when you say that, even though the others may not…I mean, he _did_ storm the Normandy beach. Right?" I finished with a chuckle. He half-laughed. It was better than nothing. I couldn't stand to see others cry; it broke my heart and made me feel like crying.

"Nobody understands…" He whispered. I sucked in a breath. I did. I understood how you could love somebody so much even though that person caused you so much anguish.

"I do…" I whispered back. "Teddy," I was going to tell him. He looked into my face and I saw all the tears covering his eyes. I decided not to.

"What?" He whispered, with said eyes.

"I just, I understand…really…I understand you completely." I said with a low voice, not looking at him. He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

"Everything is going to be alright…I promise...you know why?" I questioned, looking back to his face.

"Why?"

"'Cause you have us…" I smiled. "You have me." He smiled back and wiped the tears and put his glasses back on. I rubbed his arm.

"All better now?" He nodded and looked at me with his eyes, not saying a word.

"Good." I broke the silence.

"Amber," He started. "I'm glad you're here now…in Castle Rock." He smiled a smile similar to Chris'.

"Yeah, me too." I answered. He just smiled at me and I giggled. I never thought I would see Teddy cry and so soon after just meeting him, but now I had.

"And I really _did_ mean what I said before…your brown hair does look beautiful with your yellow-greenish eyes." He stated, staring straight into my eyes. My heart sped up and I felt awesome. I never knew something as simple as that could make me feel that way. I blushed and looked back down at my fingers.

"Thanks Teddy." I smiled back and looked back towards him. His face was right in front of mine; his breath was against my cheeks. His facial features up close were beautiful. Something changed inside of me and I suddenly, wanted to kiss him. He studied me and half-smiled. We both turned away at the same time, embarrassed. We ended up laughing, but his laugh over powered mine: Eeee-eee-eeeee! We finished our laughing fit and just talked about his father. I studied his face and knew this was going to be something special.


	5. Crazed Jealousy

Chapter 5

Teddy explained to me that his father came back from the war and was different and ended up going up to Togus to some hospital we wasn't quite sure of. It was so interesting to see Teddy's face light up when he talked about how proud he was of his father, even though we has burnt his ear to the stove. I eyed it closely.

"It didn't hurt as bad as everyone thinks it did…" He said, reaching up to touch it. I reached up to my forehead to touch the scar that ran along it. My dad was throwing things at me once and he threw a razor blade and it cut my forehead open, ending with me getting five stitches.

"I know what you mean." I answered softly, feeling the scar against my fingers. Teddy leaned forward, running his fingers against the scar.

"How'd you get that?" He quietly asked, as if it wasn't the right thing to say.

"I fell and my head scratched against a nail." I really needed to stop lying. He rubbed his thumb against it and frowned. Like Teddy had said, it didn't hurt as bad as everyone thinks it did. Teddy pulled his hand away and we continued talking. We talked about anything and everything. Soon, we both began yawning.

*Third person POV*

The birds began chirping one by one while Amber and Teddy remained inside the tree house. Both were yawning but neither wanted to leave the other.

"How long have we been up here?" Amber asked after a large yawn.

"Long." Teddy laughed. "The sun will probably be up soon." He began getting up, knowing he should start getting home before he was supposed to get up for school, so his mom wouldn't flip shit. Amber remained still, not caring about the time.

"Teddy?" She softly said. Teddy looked back down at her.

"Hmm?"

"Will you stay with me? I don't wanna go back home, please. We can go to sleep. I just don't want to be alone…" She whispered. Teddy secretly wanted to stay because he didn't want to be alone either.

"Sure," He answered with a smile and sat down, closer to her. He didn't want to admit it to anyone, but he secretly liked Amber…a lot. Sure, he was liked girls before, but nothing compared to the way he felt about Amber.

"Thanks." She replied. She watched Teddy get comfortable. She just studied him, realizing that maybe she had feelings for him…it _was_ possible. Teddy had this weird thing about him that Amber liked. Teddy looked back at Amber and wanted to tell her everything he was thinking: how beautiful she was, how he would always be there for her, and more importantly, how bad he wanted to kiss her.

"Amber, I-I," He stuttered. He so desperately wanted to tell her and just hold her, never letting go. Amber looked back at Teddy, wanting him to kiss her.

"What is it, Teddy?" She quietly asked, moving closer to him so their faces were very close.

"I-I just wanted to say thanks for being here, for me, tonight." He finished, instantly hating himself for saying that and not just kissing her. She smiled and felt slightly sad.

"Anytime," She answered, eyeing Teddy's lips. She wanted his lips against hers. "But Teddy, could you do one thing?" Teddy eyed her closely, swallowing before answering.

"Yeah, what is it?" He answered. She was afraid, but wanted to ask him. She was silent but the began.

"Kiss me," Amber whispered. "Please." Teddy smiled and pressed his lips against hers. It was a soft, gentle kiss that didn't last very long. Nerves were in both of their bodies and finally they pulled away. Their eyes were everywhere but on each other. They were both embarrassed because neither specifically enjoyed about talking about feelings or showing them for another person. Finally, Amber let out a small chuckle and Teddy followed with laughter. They both began laughing; even though they both knew what had just happened was awkward.

"Uhm, I think I'm gonna get some sleep for tomorrow." Amber stated, lying down on the tree house floor.

"Good plan." Teddy agreed. He started lying down also, but didn't know where to go exactly. He didn't want to be too close, but close enough. Silence had again filled the tree house and Amber felt the need to break it.

"Good night Teddy," She whispered into the air.

"Night Amber." Teddy answered. A good couple of minutes passed before the sounds of heavy breathing filled the silence. Teddy sat up and looked over at Amber and smiled. He then lay back down, falling asleep with that smile spread across his face.

The opening of the hatch is what woke Teddy up the next morning.

"T-Teddy? Amber?" It was Chris. They met up every year on the first day of school and Chris was expecting to be the first one there, like he was every year. He was shocked to find Amber and Teddy sleeping there, together. Teddy rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses, realizing Chris was the one that had opened the door. Amber was still sleeping soundly.

"Is there something I should know about?" Chris asked in a quieter voice, trying to remember Amber was still sleeping. Teddy sat up and shook his head.

"Not really, we just slept here." Teddy explained. Chris kept his eyes narrowed on Teddy. "What? Is somebody jealous?" Teddy smirked.

"Don't start with me, Duchamp." Chris growled. The truth was that he _was _jealous. _He_ liked Amber; he couldn't just let Teddy steal her away. Teddy laughed his famous Teddy Duchamp laugh: Eeee-eee-eeeee! And Chris just rolled his eyes, moving in and over to Amber. He placed a light hand on her and called out to her: "Amber? You gotta get up; we all gotta go to school…" Amber shook awake and looked up at Chris, before sitting up.

"I forgot about that." She quietly said, trying to get fully awake. Teddy was silent, eyeing how closely Chris was leaning in towards Amber.

"Can I meet you guys back here in twenty minutes?" Amber questioned, crawling over to the door.

"Sure," Chris responded. She nodded and left. Chris and Teddy were sitting in silence, before Teddy had to ask what was bothering him.

"Do you like her, Chris?" Chris' head slowly looked up, towards Teddy.

"You're crazy Duchamp." Chris laughed oddly.

"Yeah..." Teddy muttered. "But, I don't think _I'm_ the only crazy one, Chambers…" And with that, Teddy left Chris in the tree house, heading home to wash up for school. Chris sighed heavily, and was thinking about what Teddy had asked. Teddy knew…why else would he ask something like that? Damn, maybe Chris _was _crazy. But for what? Liking a pretty girl? Chris punched the side and jumped down, out of the tree house, heading for home.


	6. A Coke and Pez filled morning

Chapter 6

*Amber's POV*

I slowly waltzed back to my house, with last night on repeat in my mind. Teddy and I kissed…_kissed_. It was wonderful! I smiled just thinking about the way his lips had felt against mine. The birds sang the happy song my heart was feeling. I approached my house and happiness fell. I still had to deal with my mom and dad. It was still early morning so they were probably still passed out, not remembering what happened at all last night. Not having a clue he had beaten me, giving me bruises, bumps, and scars. Suddenly, the pain in my ribs was back…it felt like a thousand knives were stabbing my side and they were all labeled 'daddy'. Anger built up inside me and I stormed inside, making as much noise as I could. Fuck them. They could just go fucking _die_ for all I cared! I stomped upstairs, with a frown on my face. I slammed the bathroom door shut and looked at myself in the mirror. I hated what stared back at me. It was some person that was always against me. I turned away, disgusted. I removed all my clothing and got into the shower. I washed myself and just stood under the water, letting it hit my back. It was like a hundred back stabbers, slowly trying to kill me. My body ached and I let everything release out of me. The tears contained every emotion: anger, happiness, sadness. It was the only time I could truly cry and let my heart pour out. Nobody ever saw me like this and they never would, not even Teddy.

I finished my shower and emptied out onto the floor, just to realize there were no towels. _Fuck_. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and looked back at it, more closely. Bruises covered my entire body. Teddy was correct, there were a few bruises surrounding my neck. A giant bruise was developing across my rib cage. I brushed a few fingers along it and flinched. Even that hurt. I picked my clothes up off the floor and raced out, not caring that I was completely nude. I sprinted into my room and locked the door. I dug through my bags, searching for fresh clothes and finally found a pair of jean shorts and a plain purple shirt. I squeezed the excess water out of my hair and onto the ground. I put on my worn out black converse and exited the room, heading back towards the bathroom. I heard shuffling downstairs but I continued on my path. I looked back into that same mirror once I entered the bathroom. Suddenly, I got a wind of a familiar scent…it was the scent I had once inhaled before, when I was younger. It was my mother's scent. It was that warm vanilla scent that I recognized and suddenly, I was a little girl again, squeezing my mother, with her kissing my nose, telling me not to be afraid of the scary dream. I turned around, with tears in my eyes and whispered, "Momma?" But nobody was there, which frightened me even more…not being able to hold on to my mother, for her to be able to make all the scary things somehow, disappear. I slowly turned back around and swallowed dryly. I wiped my eyes with my hands and began covering up the bruises that lay across my face and neck. I shook my head and left the bathroom and headed down the stairs. I saw a shadow against the back wall and headed towards it. It was _him_.

"I'm going to school." I mumbled when I saw him. His dark hair was all messed up and his eyes were completely red. I could already smell the alcohol on him.

"What?" He quietly asked with confusion.

"You heard me. I'll be back later." I confirmed and turned back around, heading for the door. I heard heavy footsteps behind me and then felt a strong grip on my shoulder.

"You do _not_ talk to me like that, young lady." He instructed.

"I just did…" I smirked. What the hell was I doing? He was going to kill me. But, it felt good to talk back. Like a sort of rush. "What you gonna do? Beat me? Rape me? That's not anything different from what you do everyday, you BASTERD!" I screamed. He reached his arm back and I felt the pain sting my face even before his hand touched my skin. I turned my face back and held my cheek. I looked at him with an evil glare.

"Do NOT talk to me like that!" He yelled back.

"Don't ever touch me again…" I growled and ran out the front door and down the front steps. I froze when I saw Chris standing in the street, with a few bottles of coke, staring back at me. I felt my face stinging.

"Amber, is everything alright in there?" He finally managed to ask. I continued walking towards him and then towards the tree house.

"Super," I lied. He ran up to me, all the bottles hitting each other.

"Then why is there a hand print on your face?" He asked, walking in front of me, stopping me.

"That's what happens when you talk back." I mumbled and stared back at him. My cheek stung so badly and I just looked down before I would start crying. Chris eyed me closely, not completely sure if I was alright.

"What's with the all the cokes?" I asked, curiously. Chris studied me and then opened his lips.

"I was bringing them to the tree house. We do this ever year…drink coke and eat Pez at six in the morning." Chris laughed, awkwardly, obviously still worried about me.

"That always a good time." I smiled. He nodded and we began walking again. The stinging in my face decreased and I felt the hand print fading. Chris cleared his throat and looked down at the ground.

"So, uhm, what did you and Teddy do last night?" He questioned.

"We just talked, mostly." I responded, remembering the kiss Teddy and I had shared. I smiled and Chris continued, "Mostly?" Was he jealous? Of what though? Teddy?

"Yeah, what are you, a cop or something?" I joked. But, it _was_ sort of weird he wanted to know so badly. Chris laughed dryly and then smiled at me.

"What, are you jealous?" I asked with a grin. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head, fake laughing. He was, I could tell. We walked the rest of the way in an awkward silence until the tree house came into view.

"Who's bringing the Pez?" I questioned.

"Vern." Chris answered, half-smiling. I laughed and Chris snickered. The tree house was more visible now and I could already hear Teddy's laugh echo throughout the quiet neighborhood. The coke bottles rattled against each other in Chris' arms and I kicked a pebble across the pavement.

"So, why did you and Teddy sleep in the tree house?" Chris started. Damn, he _was_ jealous.

"We were bored, I guess…and we just needed to get out." I explained.

"I would've come too, if I knew." Chris told me. What the hell was this boy's deal? But, I had to admit it _did _make me feel sort of good, knowing Chris was all jealous. Boys were never jealous over me…there were always prettier girls in my town, ones that would put out easier too. I mean, don't get me wrong, I did do things I regret now, but other girls were worse than I was.

"Sorry. Next time I'll come knocking by your house at two AM and beg you to do a sleepover with me in the tree house." I sarcastically said, nudging him with an elbow. Chris grinned widely but in a shy way.

"Is that a promise?" He asked. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Sure, what the hell!" I answered. He smiled and we approached the tree house. I climbed up the ladder and threw open the hatch hollering, "Hello friends!" Vern squirmed and Gordie flinched.

"Hah! Vern, you pussy!" Teddy yelled and cracked up.

"Shut-up Teddy." Vern mumbled. I climbed in laughing and I focused my eyes on Teddy. How was he going to act? Was it going to be obvious that we kissed last night? Was it just a one time thing? So many thoughts raced throughout my mind. He stared back at me with a sort of smirk on his face.

"Good one Amber," Gordie called out, obviously still jumpy. Chris appeared behind me and set the bottles on the floor, pulling himself in. I studied him, watching the way his muscles worked to pull himself inside, the way he looked at Teddy and then quickly back at me and how his face fell. I instantly felt something for Chris I hadn't felt before. I sort of, liked this boy. He was trying so hard to flirt with me, most likely something he rarely had to do because I could just tell all the girls drooled over him. But maybe, he liked how he had to work for me. Or maybe he was just going to give up? Whatever it was, I somehow enjoyed it. The feeling that somebody liked me _that_ much made me feel so wanted, so loved. Something I hadn't felt at home in years. I sat in the tree house and thought maybe, just maybe, I should let Chris in. 


	7. Teddy's perfection

Chapter 7

"Guys! We should all do a sleepover this weekend!" Vern exclaimed excitedly. Chris whipped his head towards Teddy and me.

"Why not?" Teddy agreed. Chris studied me and I looked back at him, smiling.

"Sure. Chris? How about it?" I asked.

"Okay." He replied, slightly smiling.

"First sleepover with a girl…this'll be something." Teddy joked.

"But Teddy, you've _had _a sleepover with a girl…last night with Amber." Chris said, mockingly

"I meant with all four of us, that's if Gordie can too…jeez Chambers, get your whitey-tightys out of your ass." Teddy snapped back. Chris closed his mouth, not having a response to Teddy's remark.

"Well this just got awkward…" I muttered.

"Wait, you guys did a sleepover last night? Why didn't you come get me? My dad kept talking about Denny last night…" Gordie sighed. Teddy shrugged and replied, "It just, happened." Gordie turned towards me and I nodded.

"Well, we are all doing one Friday." Gordie answered smiling.

"Shit yeah!" Teddy exclaimed. I grinned widely and looked over at Chris. His face was down and I felt bad.

"It'll be really fun, right Chris?" I said and nudged him, flashing him a warm smile. He answered with a smile and nodded.

"Okay, cool. This'll be so boss!" Vern exclaimed. We then passed around the coke and Pez, snacking on junk food, talking about fun Friday was going to be.

"Okay, so we'll at meet up here, after school?" Gordie questioned and everyone nodded. We were all walking in towards the middle school.

"Alright, see ya guys later!" He called out and disappeared. We each separated on by one until I was alone. I needed to get my classes first. I wandered down a large hallway with everyone basically staring at me. I tired to find a main office or something and when I finally did, it was jam packed with tons of kids, all complaining about their schedules. I pushed through loads of people; I just wanted to get in and out.

"Uhm, excuse me?" I called out to a lady in a bright yellow dress, flipping through some papers. She ignored me and continued with her papers.

"Excuse me?" I yelled, banging my hands on the counter. Her neck snapped up towards me and her eyes lowered their gaze on me.

"Yes?" She calmly asked, with sarcasm.

"I need my classes. My name's Amber Belvidere." She looked at me for a few seconds before finally opening a cabinet and handing me a sheet of paper.

"Here. Have a good first day." She smirked. I fake smiled and groped it out of her hand.

"Oh I will." I replied and pushed my way back out.

"_Bitch_." I mumbled under my breath. I studied my schedule:

Physics- room C19

Algebra- room C4

English- room B2

History- room C6

Physical Education- gym

LUNCH

Study hall/free period- room C19

I hated school but somehow I managed to do magnificently at it. This school was going to be good, or at least I would try to make it that way. This school was huge and full of opportunities. I looked around and began walking down a hallway, looking for room C19.

I came upon my physic's room and wandered in, not focusing on any of the other students. The teacher was standing in the front by the chalkboard. He has a thin, stick-like body and his head was completely bald.

"I'm sorry to barge in, but I'm a new student here and…" I began but he cut me off, walking towards me with a smile.

"You must be Amber Belvidere. Welcome. I'm Mr. Daniels." He was surprisingly really nice and friendly. He put an arm around me and turned me to face the class. I scanned the faces, searching for a familiar one. I finally found one, who was smiling back at me. It was Gordie. I grinned back, suddenly excited I knew someone.

"You can take a seat anywhere, sweetheart." Mr. Daniels calmly said and moved back over to the chalkboard. Gordie patted the seat next to him and I walked over to him, sliding into the seat.

"I didn't know you were in any college classes…" Gordie whispered.

"Every teacher I've ever had always said I was brilliant and 'had a gift'." I whispered back. Gordie and I continued conversation throughout all of first period, which caused Mr. Daniels to give us odd looks as we left the classroom.

"What class do you have next?" I questioned Gordie, ignoring Mr. Daniels' looks.

"History, you?"

"Algebra."

"Ew, I hate Algebra." Gordie said.

"You're telling me brother." We both snickered. "You have English third, right?"

"Yep." He smiled. "My favorite."

"Hey, it's my favorite too!" I exclaimed.

"Really? Cool! So, I'll see you there?" I nodded and we separated. Teddy had briefly told me about Gordie and his stories, hopefully I would be able to hear some soon. I went on my way, searching for my math room when I heard a familiar voice calling me name. I turned around and saw Teddy; he was smiling and literally pushing people on the ground and out of his way.

"Hi Teddy." I smiled. I was so nervous but didn't show it.

"Lemme see your classes!" He insisted, reaching his hands into my pockets. His hands suddenly on my thighs made me flinch. He noticed this and snickered while unfolding the paper. He was silent as he read through my classes and I was trying to wipe the blush off my face.

"Shit…you're just as smart as Lachance." Teddy admitted with a smile. "Looks like I'll be seeing you in gym and lunch. And we can skip study hall…its pretty pointless anyway."

"Okay," I replied, grinning.

"I'll walk with you to class. My class is right around yours." Teddy explained.

"Cool." I wanted to bring last night up, but I didn't know how to without it being strange.

"You know, you talk in your sleep." Teddy laughed. I exhaled silently. Thank God, he brought it up.

"Yeah, and you snore!" I elbowed him with a laugh. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm lookin' forward to our sleepover with everyone else Friday." Teddy brought up. "Except, we can't kiss this time." I looked over at him and he winked back at me. I blushed very heavily and turned away, smiling.

"Well," Teddy started but was interrupted by the bell. "Here's your classroom. See you in gym?" I nodded and suddenly, an old teacher was at the door calling me to come inside. And then there was another teacher walking down the hallway, towards Teddy and me.

"Teddy Duchamp, where are you supposed to be young man?" The teacher yelled.

"See 'ya!" He smiled at me and turned towards the teacher. "We have spotted the enemy! Aim and fire, men!" He screamed and imitated a machine gun, shooting at the angry teacher sprinting towards him.

"Teddy Duchamp! Cut that nonsense out this instant!" The teacher commanded. But he ran off down the hallway with his famous laugh echoing throughout the hall. I laughed and turned back into the classroom, just to see that everyone was staring at me.

"Please find a seat miss Belvidere." The teacher instructed. She was plump and had grey hair pulled back into a tight bun. I nodded and found a seat next to a girl with red hair. She looked at me with gentle eyes and smiled.

"Hey, I'm Melony." She explained.

"Amber," I responded.

"I was just wondering but, why are you friends with Teddy Duchamp?" She asked curiously. It hit me hard and I just smiled back.

"Why not?" I answered.

"But, he's…crazy and weird." She said back. Then, there was a head peering in the door. It was Teddy.

"Hi Amber!" He whispered and waved.

"Get out of my classroom!" My teacher hollered, getting up and walking over towards him. He scurried off and I smirked, thinking of Melony's question and thought about Teddy.

"He's…perfect." I smiled and turned back towards to Melony. She half-smiled and turned back towards the front, not having a response. Teddy _was_ perfect. He was everything I lacked and we were friends for every reason.


	8. Food Fight, Detention, and Chris

Chapter 8

The rest of the day was rather boring until lunch came around. Since it was the first day, the cafeteria was giving out free lunch. It was pretty great. I picked myself up and Teddy, Chris, Gordie, Vern and I all entered the lunch line. Vern reached for everything. If there was free lunch, he was going to take advantage of it-as he had put it. I was starving, since I had skipped out on breakfast. I grabbed a cheeseburger, two chocolate milks, a bag of potato chips, and a brownie-without nuts, I was allergic.

We all returned to our seats and Teddy eyed my tray.

"Looks like someone's hungry." He laughed. I nodded as I bit into my burger. We were all silent, chewing our lunches viciously, until their trays were nearly empty. I was finishing the crumbs of potato chips and still had my second milk and brownie. I opened my milk and Teddy quickly snatched the brownie.

"Hey!" I yelled. Teddy smirked and pulled back when I grabbed for it. "Teddy!" I continued, with a huge grin. "Give it back! Or I swear, I'll pour this chocolate milk down your face!" He didn't look convinced and I heard snickers coming from across the table. I glared over at Chris and Gordie and they just smiled back. I snapped back to Teddy when he said, "Yeah right!" I pretended to throw the milk at him, which caused a few droplets to fall onto Vern.

"C'mon guys, cut it out." Vern whined, wiping the liquid off his neck. Teddy and I ignored Vern's request and Teddy smirked at me.

"Come on Belvidere…I dare ya." He urged. That was a bad mistake. I do any dare, no matter _what_ it may be. I smirked back and replied, "Okay." I then dumped my entire mini-carton all over his head. He flinched back and Gordie and Chris burst into laughter. I set the container back on the table and looked back at Teddy, smiling.

"I never turn down a dare, Duchamp." I smirked. He smiled and wiped the milk off his glasses, still holding the brownie. "Now give me my brownie!"

"Oh, I'll give it to you alright." Teddy answered and before I knew it, there was a brownie smashed all over my face. I glared back at him and reached over for Vern's lasagna. I whipped it at Teddy and it hit him square in the chest. I burst out laughing, while Vern mumbled about not getting to finish his lunch peacefully. Teddy picked up Gordie's chips and threw them back at me.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Chris suddenly screamed and with that, food was flying out from every direction. With in minutes, I was covered from head to toe in a mess of lunch room food. Vern was scrambling all around, trying to dodge every bit of food. Teddy was on his hands and knees, crawling in and out of tables, exclaiming, "Get down men! The enemy is using nuclear attack! Fire at will!" It was hilarious to see his imagination going crazy like that. I smiled, just as a big bowl of soup came pouring all over my head from above. A voice laughed hysterically behind me and I turned towards it. Of course, it was Chris. His shirt was stained with food and his face had gravy pouring down his temples.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" I asked, smiling and searching for something to throw at him. I spotted a bowl of something. I ran over to it and quickly turned back around, ready to whip it. But, when I turned back around, Chris was right there, ready to smash a piece of cake right into my face. We both looked at what we each had and then smirked. We instantaneously threw our food as the other, laughing like crazy people. Once the laughs died down, I realized how close we were standing to each other. Chris towered over me and stared at me. I quickly turned away, blushing. He was so cute. That's when things took a turn for the worse. A big round man with a thick mustache and a fake head of hair entered the lunch room, his eyes widening as soon as he saw the mess.

"What on Earth is going on here?" He hollered. All the eighth graders immediately froze and dropped anything in their hands.

"Oh shit…" Gordie whispered, worriedly. "Isn't that Mr. Haralson?"

"The principal," Chris nodded.

"Oh fuck," I mumbled. Vern and Teddy found their way back over to us in the silence. I looked around at all the others; they all had identical looks slapped across their faces.

"The first day of the school year and _this_ is what I find!" He yelled and walked towards us. "I _demand_ to know who started this!" Everyone looked around. Nobody entirely knew who had begun the food fight, only us five knew…but no one was about to spill the beans. Silence filled the cafeteria and Mr. Haralson grew angrier.

"Somebody come forward or I suppose I could just-" Mr. Haralson began.

"I did it…I-I started the food fight, Sir." A voice called out. Everyone snapped their necks to the voice just to see Chris step forward. Teddy looked over at him, looked back at Mr. Haralson, and then he stepped forward claiming _he_ started the disaster.

"It was me, too." Gordie said and stepped next to Chris and Teddy. What the hell were they doing? I started it, how could they just all take the blame like that. Just then, Vern inched forward and whispered, "I did it, Mr. Haralson, also." I couldn't just let them all do that. I need part of their punishment as well. I swallowed slowly and stomped forward.

"No, it was me." I said dryly. The silence felt like it was killing me. Mr. Haralson had an unreadable expression on his face, but then parted his lips.

"Detention. All five of you. Friday." He muttered and turned his back to us, yelling at the lunch ladies to clean this mess up. The silence was unbearable as all the kids stared at us.

"Hey," I broke up that dreadful noise. "At least we all have detentions together." A smile spread across their faces one by one.

"But what do we do now? We're covered in food." Gordie mumbled, looking down at his shirt.

"Go to class?" I offered.

"Or we could just ditch, free period's pretty boring…we could go change." Teddy suggested. We all agreed and headed out of the lunch room. I've ditched class many times before back in Chicago, so nothing was new to me here. Everyone was still gazing awkwardly at all of us. Teddy noticed and said, "What? Go home and change you pussies." People gave him evil glares and he snickered. Vern began picking something on his face and it crumbled off.

"Vern! That's disgusting, don't do that!" Chris yelled, as Vern placed it in his mouth. We all shook out heads as Vern enjoyed the food all over his face.

**FRIDAY**

I jumped from my seat as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Mr. Haralson found out we ditched free period Wednesday after the food fight made sure we didn't skip it Thursday or today, Friday. Today was our detentions but more importantly, tonight was our sleepover. Everyone was excited and we all promised to meet up in the detention room as soon as the last period ended, so we could just get the detentions over and done with. I raced to the detention room and found Gordie and Vern already seated there, whispering to each other.

"Hey ladies," I joked as I sat down next to them.

"Hey Amber," Vern smiled. Just within those two, short days, we had become even closer. I felt like I met them two _years_ ago. They were my best friends; there was no questioning about it. There was never a dull moment with these guys and I felt I fit in perfectly.

*Third person POV*

Gordie, Vern, and Amber all talked about tonight until Chris and Teddy walked in, with the teacher trailing behind them.

"Sit down, three desks apart from each other, keeping your traps _shut_!" The boney teacher instructed. Teddy mocked her and placed his body in the chair next, or three seats away actually, to Amber. She smiled at him and he winked in response. Chris set himself on the other side of Amber, next to Gordie.

"Now, this is detention! No speaking or else." The teacher warned. She was tall and had blonde hair, with a full mask of make-up.

"But you're speaking right now." Teddy smirked. She glared at him and sat down in her chair.

Detention went rather quickly for the five. Maybe it was because everyone kept laughing and goofing off which caused the teacher to lose her cool and scream at all of them. Or maybe it was because Teddy kept switching seats every time the blonde adult would look away and then looked back, found Teddy in a different seat and thought she was going crazy. The students' laughter made the teacher even angrier and eventually dismissed all five a few minutes early, just to not have to deal with them.

They all raced out of the school building, all filled with excitement. They ran down the streets of Castle Rock, whooping and hollering.

"Hey, lets all meet back at the tree house in an hour?" Chris suggested. They all responded with nods. The gang separated from each other, except Chris and Amber. They walked to their homes, pumped with energy.

"This is gonna be so boss!" Chris exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air.

"I know right? I'm so flippin' excited! Maybe Teddy and I could even-" Amber quickly shut her lips, realizing what she was about to say. Her palms sweated and she felt her stomach drop to her Converse.

"You and Teddy could even, _what_?" Chris questioned with a nervous look.

"Just like, talk again…like we did the other night." Amber lied, closing her eyes tightly and bawling her hands into fists.

"Well, _we_ could talk too…but only if you want to…" Chris whispered, staring hard at the ground.

"That'd be, cool, I guess." Amber answered, smiling to herself. Chris smiled to himself also and they continued walking to their houses. They stopped in front of Chris' and Amber softly asked, "Can I come in with you?" Chris thought about this for a moment. If his dad wasn't home, then yeah, she could. Chris didn't want Amber seeing his dad. He could deal with Eyeball's taunting, but he never wanted her to see him at his weakest moments.

"Hang on," Chris said and ran into the house, searching for any traces of his father. All she saw was Eyeball, Ace, Billy, and Charlie, better known as The Cobras, sitting around smoking cigs.

"Christopher," Eyeball began, but Chris ran our before he heard the rest of Eyeball. Amber was still standing in front, waiting anxiously for Chris to return.

"Okay, you can come on in…my dad's out." Chris explained, gesturing for Amber to come in. Amber crossed in front of Chris nervously, not knowing _what_ to expect as she entered Chris Chamber's house.


	9. Vern as Sweet as Pie

Chapter 9

Amber entered the house, with Chris closely trailing behind her. She saw The Cobras and The Cobras saw Amber. The gang all sat up, smirking and looked at Amber seriously.

"Chris, who's your friend?" Ace asked, smirking and standing up.

"Why the hell would I tell you Ace?" Chris answered, moving closer to Amber.

"If you know what's good for ya', you'll answer him." Eyeball snickered.

"Amber," The girl blurt out. "My name's Amber." She blinked quickly and was slightly afraid but didn't budge.

"Well Chris, your friend is pretty cute." Ace admitted, taking a step closer. "What's a pretty girl like you hangin' with homos like this?" He asked Amber, motioning over to Chris.

"She's our age. _Thirteen_, Ace." Chris growled, glaring at Ace.

"Well, she don't look like no thirteen year old I've seen before!" He laughed. The Cobras all joined in on the laughter and lowered their eyes on Amber. She then began to feel worried and frightened, but didn't want to show fear; that's what they were expecting.

"C'mon Amber," Chris said, grabbing her wrist and pulled her up the stairs. She kept her eyes on Ace and he smirked, "See ya' later Amber," and winked. Amber felt uncomfortable and knew The Cobras were never up to any good. Chris was furious. He didn't want _any_ of The Cobras laying a hand on Amber. He wouldn't let them, ever. He dragged her into his room and slammed the door.

"Sorry 'bout the mess," Chris said, nervously, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. Amber looked at him, puzzled.

"Dude, this is nothing." Amber smiled. There was barely anything on the floor. He smiled in return and began searching for his sleeping bag. Amber sat down on his bed and looked all around, examining all the books scattered across the room.

"So, you like to read?" Amber asked. Chris smiled at her, pulling out his sleeping bag.

"Yeah, I guess. I do it sometimes in my free time." Chris told her and she nodded, slightly shocked.

"So, uhm, so Ace and those guys get into lots of trouble?" Amber asked Chris. He walked over to her and stopped.

"Yeah, stay away from them. They're creeps." He told the girl. Amber nodded and they excited Chris' room, stomping quickly back down the stairs.

"Where you goin' girls?" Eyeball questioned.

"None of your damn business." Chris snapped back and they hustled out of the house. Vern was parked outside, in front of the house.

"Vern, I thought we were all gonna meet at the tree house?" Chris reminded him. Vern shrugged and replied, "I got bored." Chris laughed and turned to Amber.

"Can I come in your house now?" He questioned Amber softly. Amber didn't know if it was such a good idea. Chris looked at her hopefully and Amber sighed, "Fine," with a smile.

"Wait, where do you live Amber?" Vern asked. Amber pointed next door, to her house. Vern smiled huge and they all walked to the house next door. There weren't any cars in the driveway which made Amber feel relieved. She slowly opened the door and they all wandered in.

"C'mon guys, upstairs to my room." Amber instructed the boys. The followed Amber's lead and she led them into her room, closing the door, just in case someone was home. The boys looked around while Amber dug through boxes, looking for _her_ sleeping bag. When she finally found it, she remembered she had to put more cover-up on..The bruises were probably starting to show. Suddenly, there was a voice hollering outside for Vern. Vern raced over to Amber's window and opened it.

"Teddy! Over here!" Vern screamed at Teddy. Teddy's head whipped to Amber's house. Chris and Amber hurried over to the window also. Chris shook his head when he saw Teddy and Gordie holding their sleeping bags.

"I guess you guys don't know how to tell time.." Chris mumbled.

"Amber? Is this your house?" Gordie called out. "Can we come in too?" Amber sighed and answered, "What the hell, sure!" and with that, they were walking towards Amber's house.

"Hey guy, wait here. I gotta go do something." Amber said, exiting the room. She headed towards the bathroom and heard heavy footsteps. It was just Teddy and Gordie, Amber reminded herself. She blinked quickly and looked into the mirror. She needed more cover-up, so she reached for it and began applying it to her face.

"Why do you put all that on Amber? You're already pretty enough." A voice said softly. Amber looked over towards it. All four of them were standing in the doorway, smiling. Vern had said the compliment and was grinning like a madman.

"Didn't I tell you guy to wait in my room?" Amber asked, smiling.

"We got curious," Teddy responded, smiling back.

"Guys, I was gone for like, two seconds!" She fought back.

"Hey! You never answered Vern's question!" Gordie shot back.

*Amber's POV*

I put my cover-up away and looked back into the mirror and frowned.

"I have my reasons.." I mumbled and looked back at them. Teddy stared at me. I stared back at him, but quickly turned away when I realized he wasn't going to look away.

"Well Vern's right, Amber." Teddy started. "You're already pretty." I looked over at him and he was half-blushing with a small smile. Chris and Gordie nodded, smiling too.

"Thanks guys," I answered and smiled back. "Come on, we better get going." They all exited the doorway and let me through. We all exited down the stairs and out the house. We all walked to the tree house, holding our sleeping bags. We finally managed to arrive at the club house after Teddy and Vern got into a wrestling match on the side of the rode. We all sat in the tree house, staring at each other.

"Guys, we can't just sit in this tree house all night..Let's go have some fun!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Well my Mom said that she was making a turkey for dinner. We could go eat and then go do whatever." Vern told us.

"Yeah, we could go hang out at some place." Gordie added. We all hopped out of the tree house and wandered down to Vern's house.

Walking into Vern's home felt like I was a girl again. Mom used to make a turkey once every month and the smell was unforgettable.

"Vern?" A woman said when she saw us. "Did you all join us for dinner?" She asked, sweetly.

"Yeah Mom, we're all starving," Vern answered as his mother kissed his head.

"Well, you're all welcome over here for dinner anytime." She smiled. Her eyes landed on me and she said, "I don't think I've met you before," The women moved her large figure towards me, grinning.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" She softly questioned. I caught Vern's face and saw he was embarrassed by his mother.

"Amber," I replied.

"Well Amber, I'm Mrs. Tessio. You can come here anytime you like." Mrs. Tessio explained with gentle eyes. She was so sweet and nice, something my mother lacked for so many years.

"Thanks Mrs. Tessio." I said back eagerly. She nodded and called out to Vern, "Honey, go set a few more plates for your friends." Vern nodded and we all followed him to the dining room.

"Sorry about my mom being so, my mom. She's always too nice." Vern complained, taking out more dishes.

"Vern, I would kill to have your mother," Gordie replied with emphasis.

"Yeah, Vern. Your mom is awesome! And she can freakin' cook, man!" Teddy exclaimed, laying a hand on Vern's shoulder. Vern shrugged and continued setting the extra plates on the table. Gordie was right. I would do nearly anything to have Mrs. Tessio as _my_ mother.


	10. Pinky Promises are real

Chapter 10

Vern's mom came out with the turkey and everyone was beaming. It looked and smelled incredible; it was like a mini Thanksgiving. Mr. Tessio arrived at the table as if on cue. I watched as he kissed his wife's cheek and she giggled like a young girl. My heart warmed at the sight of Vern's parents still madly in love with each other. They were the perfect match: cute, plump, and full of respect and joy. Mr. Tessio smiled at us five and began cutting the turkey.

"Alright kids, dig in!" Mrs. Tessio exclaimed after the bird was all separated. We all reached for the delicious dinner and piled our plates.

"Vern, holy shit. Your mom is like a _God_!" I admitted as we walked out of the house. It had to be one of the best meals I've ever eaten in my life. We all rubbed our stomachs and they nodded in agreement.

"Hey, let's go for a walk in the woods," Teddy suggested after we were all complaining about how bored we all were.

"But Teddy, it's gonna be dark soon..What if, something's, _in_ there." Vern put out with fear on his face. Chris, Gordie, and I all rolled our eyes and Teddy replied, "Too bad. There's nothing else to do!"

"Yeah, c'mon Vern-o! It'll be fun. And don't worry," I reassured him with an arm around his shoulders. "If there's anything in the woods, they'll eat me first, they always go for the girls first."

"If that's true, maybe Vern _should_ stay out.." Gordie joked.

"Go screw," Vern fought back as we all entered the wooded area, smirking. It was quiet and bugs hissed from different directions all around us. The setting sun was a salmon pink behind the trees and was darkening quickly.

"So, where did you hear that monsters always eat the girls first?" Teddy asked, slowing his pace to walk next to me.

"Come on, in every horror movie, the chicks are always the first to go," I explained simply.

"Yeah, except if the chick is fuckin' bad ass and kills everything in sight!" He loudly exclaimed. I nodded and laughed in agreement. He elbowed me and said, "Sorta like you."

"I'm bad ass?"

"Yeah! You're just like one of us guys; you're like the coolest chick ever." I smiled and he playfully shoved me. I shoved him back a bit harder.

"Got you last," I smirked, insisting for a game of "I-touched-you-last". He lowered his eyes and we got into the game, hitting each other and running away like little sissy girls screaming, "I got you last!" and replying with "No, _I_ got you last!" I ran far ahead of him after skinning my fingers along his neck. That counted as touching him last. I raced in front of Chris, Gordie, and Vern and looked back to see if Teddy was getting any closer. But then, my foot snagged on a tree root and down I went, tumbling down the hill through all sorts of plants with dirt filling my eyes and mouth as I screamed.

*Third person POV*

The boys all hurried over to where Amber had fallen, shrieking her name with small hints of laughter. They sprinted down the hill to her and finally saw her sitting on her butt in a large pond, similar to the one they all got leeches in.

"Amber, are you okay?" Chris asked, reaching her first but not quite stepping in the water.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But my ass is completely soaked." She answered flatly. Teddy and Gordie appeared next to Chris and then Vern behind them, peeking his head through them to see Amber. "Oh, and Teddy? I _did_ get you last.." She added, smugly. He inched towards her, half-smiling and nervously entering the water, watching every step he took cautiously. He reached an arm out for her.

"C'mon," He urged, holding out his hand. She looked at it for a second before grabbing onto it with a strong grip, pulling him closer to her face.

"Wait!" He yelled. "Before you pull me in, time out! Do you have any leeches on you?" She looked down into the water and then back at Teddy, then let go of him to inspect her legs and in her underwear. She shook her head and grabbed his arm once more. Teddy glanced back at his friends and smiled. He then looked back to Amber's face and said, "Time in," Then, Teddy instantly got a face full of pond water. Everyone followed and they were finally wrestling in the pond, like they all had once before. They were soon completely drenched from head to toe. Amber came out of the water, ready to jump atop of Gordie when Chris noticed something a dark shade of purple on Amber's face.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Chris called out and stood, walking towards her. "Amber, what's on your face?" Amber was confused at first and questioned, "What you talkin' about Chris?" Then, Teddy and Vern looked closely at her.

"Chris is right. Amber, you have, like, _bruises_…" Teddy added, putting on his glasses. Amber's heart sped up but she remained silent.

"What is it? Amber?" Chris urged, walking closer to her.

"Nothing," She mumbled quietly and snapped her body to the side. Chris quickly moved over to her, pulling her to face them.

"The hell it's nothing!" Chris continued. Teddy came by Chris, along with Gordie and Vern.

"Amber, you can tell us," Chris said.

"There's nothing to tell!" She snapped back.

"Amber, just tell us! Please!"

"How am I supposed to tell somebody that my dad hits me every night? Or that he stole my virginity at eight years old! How Chris? Tell me _that_!" Amber screamed with tears running down her cheeks. Everyone grew completely silent, even the bugs all stopped hissing for a few seconds, not knowing what to do or say. She dropped to the ground, splashing water everywhere and sat down with her legs pulled close to her chest and her head in her knees, holding herself tightly. Teddy slowly made his way over to the weeping girl, sat down beside her in the murky water, and held her.

"Amber, you don't deserve that. He's just some asshole that doesn't even know how great of a daughter he has." Chris whispered after sitting down on the other side of Amber. Gordie and Vern sat down in front of her silently.

"But you don't understand! He doesn't mean to do the things he does! He really loves me..really, he does!" She pleaded, looking up towards Chris and then dropped her head back down, letting the sobs all come out. Teddy squeezed her tighter and looked down. He understood what she meant. His father hadn't meant to burn his ear…he was a good man that Teddy loved and he loved Teddy. Amber quickly looked back up through her tears, at Teddy after the tightening grip and Teddy was now looking back at her. Her lip quivered and their faces were inches apart. Even more tears poured out and she put her head back down. Chris laid a soft hand on the back of her neck and she flinched. Chris looked at her and whispered, "I could never hurt you. I know the feeling of getting hit by someone that is supposed to protect you, all too well." Teddy removed his arm and let Chris comfort her. Teddy had already had his silent conversation with Amber. Chris wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She leant her head against his cheek and wept.

"How could somebody hit someone so, perfect and beautiful?" Vern questioned quietly. Everyone looked over and shrugged, except Gordie who said, "There are just some evil people in this world Vern." Vern nodded defeated. Amber wanted to stop crying but she couldn't find the power to. Chris held her tighter every time she sobbed harder.

"I'm so sorry," She suddenly cried. Everybody looked at her in shock. Chris looked down at her and made her look up at his him.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked.

"'Cause I'm bein' a girl, cryin' like a baby! It's all my fault my dad does this to me.." Amber choked out and began crying harder. Chris shook his head, smiling.

"No, Amber, no…" He replied, pulling her back into a hug. "Your father beating you is _not_ your fault. And crying about it does not make you anything except normal. We all love you and would never want you to be upset, but right now, you just need a couple of friends, and that's what we're here for..you." Chris concluded. Amber looked up at Vern, Gordie, and Teddy who all nodded with smiles.

"We all do love you Amber, sincerely." Vern added.

"And we are always gonna be here for you." Gordie admitted.

"Yeah, no matter what happens or how crazy one of us gets, we will always be there for anything you need from us." Teddy said, honestly. Amber scanned all their faces through her tears.

"Pinky promise?" She quietly asked, half-smiling. They all looked at each other, smiles appearing on all their faces, one by one. Teddy finally looked back to Amber and held up his pinky.

"I pinky promise." He promised. All five interlocked pinkies and Amber felt like it was something more than a pinky promise. Like, they all were telling the truth that day. That, they always would be friends no matter where each traveled or how each one changed. Pinky promises were just a childish thing but somehow, it made Amber feel better, knowing that they were all willing to pinky promise to keep their friendship alive and thriving no matter what happened. And sitting there in that pond, they all felt their friendship with Amber grow stronger than ever. They would be able to tell each other anything and that's what true friendship really is.


	11. Sucidal thoughts and more jealousy

**Sorry it took me awhile to write..i had horrible writer's block. I wrote this chapter at 3am..i don't sleep. haha! Hope you like it! And don't forget to REVIEW! Now, to the story! :**

Amber wiped her face, pushing all the tears aside. She looked back to her friends and felt slightly embarrassed. She had _never_ cried this hard in front of anyone besides herself. She also felt relief for finally telling them all the truth; she didn't need to hide it anymore. And she knew they all could feel her pain so she wouldn't ever feel alone.

"Thanks guys, really," Amber said. "Just don't tell anyone about all of this," She rubbed a finger across her bruised eye. Chris rubbed his hand over the spot her hand just was and smiled warmly.

"Don't worry, you can trust us," Teddy spoke, suddenly jealous of how close Chris was to Amber. He held a hand out to her and smiled.

"C'mon, we have a game to finish," Teddy reminded as soon as she grabbed onto his hand. Before long, all five of them were all running around like maniacs, drenched from that pond, splashing each other constantly.

They all finally called peace and caught their breath, slowly climbing back up the hill. The sky had now darkened and there was barely any light for any of them to see.

*Amber's POV*

We all scurried through the dark, with Vern complaining non-stop about how frightened he was. I didn't feel like talking too much because I was still in a weird mood from what had happened earlier. Why did I tell them? Yeah, Chris experienced the same thing, but it was different. Like, maybe it was wrong to tell them that secret. You could have family secrets, right? Now that they all knew, they had to worry about me all the time. How was that fair to them? If I was gone, maybe their lives would be more simple and not caught up with my bullshit. And if I wasn't there anymore, my dad wouldn't have to beat me any longer, his anger could be expressed other ways.

We all approached gravel and thought nothing of it until a bright light blinded us all.

"Hey, it looks like there's a road here," Vern said the obvious.

"No shit.." Teddy mocked. Chris and Gordie snickered but I remained mute. This was the perfect opportunity to just, disappear. I could just walk out there and let some car take my life; it was that easy. I stared straight out at the road and saw very faint headlights appear. This was my chance. My legs began moving my body straight to the middle of the street and I stopped, looking at the approaching lights. They boys were all silent as they stared at me, confused.

*Third Person POV*

"Amber, what are you doing?" Chris slowly asked.

"C'mon Amber, quit playin' around." Gordie instructed. Amber began smiling but continued looking out ahead.

"Guys, its okay, if I just stand here and let the car hit me…everything'll be better." Amber laughed. "You guys won't have to worry about me and my dad won't have to beat me anymore. It'll be perfect!"

"Amber! Don't even _fucking_ say that!" Chris roared. She was acting _crazy_! How could she just say something like that?

"Amber, c'mon..get out of the road, I know how you feel, but please don't do this, please, for me.." Teddy pleaded with a gentle tone. He was once where she was: standing in the road, ready to end it all. But, she couldn't do this, she meant too much to him.

Amber laughed awkwardly but then looked over to Teddy and replied, "That's what I'm doing. So you don't have to worry! You're life'll be stress-free!" Tears flooded her eyes. The headlights were moving closer and really fast. She looked back towards the car and smiled. This was it. The end. Death.

"Amber don't!" Vern hollered.

"Get out of the fucking road!" Chris bellowed. She shook her head and yelled, "NO! This is how it's supposed to happen! Everything will be okay!" The headlights were closer and their hearts were all speeding up.

"Amber, please!" Teddy cried, tears almost falling. He was so tempted just to run out there and save her but something told him not to. He _loved _her and knew, somewhere in his heart, she wouldn't go through with this, because she loved him back, Teddy was sure of it. If he ran out, it would make her more upset and then she may actually kill herself.

Then, in one quick motion, Chris sprinted out in the road, grabbed Amber, and dragged her back to safety. She was kicking and screaming like a loony.

"Chris! What the fuck! Leave me alone! I wanna die! LET _GO_!" She screamed as she tried to pull free of Chris' iron grip. The car whizzed past and the driver yelled something muffled. She watched the car fly by and glared back at Chris, who was still holding her.

"I fucking hate you! Let me go!" She continued, tears now filling her eyes. She beat on his chest and arms, hollering and crying.

"Amber! I'm not letting you _kill_ yourself!" Chris hollered back, staring into her face.

"I hate you!" She yelped through tears.

"Amber," Teddy whispered, his hands tensing up. Gordie and Vern remained quiet, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Amber snapped her head over to Teddy.

"Let me go Chris! I want Teddy!" She yelled and fought through Chris' arms, running over to Teddy and wrapped her arms around him and he did the same to her.

"Teddy," She cried into his chest. "What's wrong with me? I wanna die and never breathe ever again!" Teddy squeezed her closer and whispered, "Please, please don't say that," He felt like crying with her, but he needed to remain strong. She began falling to the grass and Teddy fell with her, sitting with their arms around each other.

Chris breathed heavily and grew angry. Why would she think they didn't want to _worry_ about her? Chris paced in a mini circle, trying to calm himself down.

"Chris was just trying to save you Amber, don't be mad at him." Teddy told Amber as she cried into his shirt. "He saved my life too." She said more loudly, so Chris would be able to hear. Teddy looked over at Chris and half-smiled. "And I never did thank him for that.."

Chris looked back at Teddy and slowly walked towards them. Chris sighed and kneeled down.

"I'm sorry Amber," He whispered. "I just couldn't let you do that to yourself. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I let you kill yourself." Teddy didn't want Chris stealing Amber away from him so he rubbed Amber's head and kissed her forehead, which caused Teddy to receive an odd glare from Chris. Amber began calming down and wiped her face, moving her head up to Chris.

"I'm so sorry Chris. You were just..you saved my life," She admitted to herself. "Thanks Chris, really, I mean it." She stared into his face. "And I don't hate you." Chris smiled and responded, "Just don't scare me like that ever again," She nodded and looked down. She hesitated, but then reached over to hug Chris and Teddy let go of her. She grabbed onto Chris' shirt and draped her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her back and smiled.

"Thanks Chris, really, thank you." Amber whispered into Chris' ear.

"Your welcome," He replied and held onto her and then she pulled back to look at him. She smiled gently and he smiled back.

"What the fuck just happened?" Vern questioned, interrupting. Amber stood up and faced Vern, smiling.

"Chris is a smart guy..we should listen to him more often," Amber explained, walking away from the road. Gordie then said, "Yeah, we should." He really was. He saved her life after all. Chris and Teddy stood up, watching Amber walk away.

"She's crazy, that girl." Chris commented.

"I can help her.." Teddy replied, keeping his eyes on her.

"Yeah, how?" Chris remarked, dreading the answer. _He_ wanted to help Amber.

"'Cause we have something Chris, you just, don't understand." Teddy smirked, purposely trying to make Chris jealous.

"Whatever Duchamp," Chris muttered and walked ahead of him, towards Amber. That pissed Chris off. Teddy smiled, proud of himself and hurried to catch up with his friends.


	12. Love and Sex

The night continued on, full of fun and laughter. They all put on Amber's incident to the back of their minds but still thought about it every now and then.

Later that night, once Chris, Gordie, and Vern were all silent, sleeping soundly, Teddy and Amber stayed up, staring at each other and making small talk.

"Amber, could I ask you something?" Teddy asked. Amber hesitated before answering with a nod. She really didn't want it to be about her trying to kill herself.

"After Chris pulled you from the road, why did you want me?" Amber was silent and shrugged, not wanting to reveal the truth to Teddy.

"C'mon, you can tell me," Teddy nudged her with a smile. Amber half-smiled in return and then sighed, "Okay, I guess," She choked off. "I guess, it's just that I feel comfortable whenever I'm around you, like I can say or do anything and you'll understand completely. It's almost like, I-I…" Teddy was now inching closer to her face.

"Like you love me?" Teddy finished. Amber stared straight back to Teddy and grew nervous.

"Yeah," She finally whispered. Teddy's lips formed a smile and he pressed his against Amber's. She kissed him back, running her hands throughout his hair and moving closer to him. The kiss turned into a make-out session with them all over each other, never wanting it to end.

They separated for a few breaths and Teddy put his mouth to Amber's ear, whispering, "I love you…so much, Amber," inside it. Amber kissed his neck and smiled.

"Oh _god_…" A voice whined. Vern was sitting up, staring at Teddy and Amber with a disgusted look. Teddy smirked while Amber laughed.

"I knew there was something going on with you two! I just _knew_ it!" Vern exclaimed like a little kid.

"Way to go Vern-o!" Amber clapped her hands together, laughing.

"Guys, what's going on?" Gordie said, annoyed.

"Amber and Teddy were just sucking each other's throats dry!" Vern teased. Gordie smirked and sat up quickly.

"Ooh really?"

"We were not!" Amber fought.

"Sure…that's why your lips were all smashed against each others!" Vern laughed and Gordie snickered.

"At least I'm not a pussy like you Vern! I actually put the moves on a girl!" Teddy protested.

"I'm just shy," Vern mumbled. By now, Chris was rubbing his eyes and sat up, confused.

"What's everyone yelling about?"

"Amber and Teddy were just about to get it on!" Gordie explained, laughing. Amber rolled her eyes.

"What?" Chris continued.

"Me and Amber were just kissing, everyone just calm the hell down." Teddy said.

"Oh," Chris said sadly. Teddy had beaten him. He got Amber. That was it, it was over. Chris lay back down and rolled away from them all, trying to hide his emotions. He really thought he could've gotten Amber, but maybe there was still a way.

Gordie sensed Chris' upset mood and asked, "Chris, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just really tired," Chris lied with a flat tone.

"Oh, okay,"

"I'm goin' back to sleep now, don't do anything nasty…" Vern joked.

"Can't make any promises," Teddy laughed: Eeee-eee-eeeee! Amber followed in on Teddy's laughter while Gordie rolled his eyes, lying back down. Amber and Teddy looked at each other, grinning from ear to ear.

Teddy was ecstatic that he could finally tell Amber everything that has been on his mind throughout the entire week. Even though they only met a little while ago, he really _did_ love her and wanted her to know that.

Amber felt exactly like Teddy, except, she was afraid something would happen or they would move too fast and it would all be over before it got too serious. That's what happened with her last "boyfriend"…he only wanted her for sex and once he got it, he dumped Amber on her ass. She knew Teddy wouldn't hurt her; it wasn't him she was scared of. It was her own self.

Teddy moved closer to Amber and held her. She leant against Teddy's chest with them holding hands. Eventually, they fell asleep, dreaming of happy thought about each other.

The good thing about Teddy and Amber's relationship was that they all still acted the same around each other; nobody showed any sort of change just because Teddy was dating Amber. They all still picked on each other, called each other "pussies", and had random wrestling matches in the street. Everyone, except Chris. But, it wasn't a noticeable change in the Chambers boy. His heart ached at the sight of Amber and Teddy holding hands or giving each other light pecks on the cheek. He couldn't show jealousy because it was only going to make things even worse. He had to slowly get closer to Amber and make her fall out of love with Teddy and in love with himself. But Chris always cursed at himself when those thoughts filled his brain. It was too cruel to Teddy. Although they had their differences at times, he still loved Teddy like a brother. He would just have to watch as his heart chipped away.

*Amber's POV*

I was walking to the tree house when a though popped into my mind. _Teddy and I have been dating for almost three months._ My heart sped up and my palms grew sweaty. My relationship with Teddy has been nothing but perfect. He was everything a girl could ask for: funny, sweet, and just damn right sexy. His lips were always soft. And his kisses were so warm and gentle; those made me nearly melt. He was pure perfection if you ask me.

I arrived at the tree house and pushed open the hatch to see the boys all sitting around in a circle.

"What's up guys?" I asked, plopping down in between Teddy and Gordie.

"We're playing truth or dare, but it's a different version," Vern told me.

"Yeah? How so?"

"Well, when somebody gets asked a question for truth, everyone has to answer it, instead of just that person. Oh, and you can only pick truth. Dare isn't an option."

"Then why is it called 'Truth or Dare' if you can't even pick dare?" I urged.

"Since you just got here, Gordie gets to ask you a question first," Vern instructed.

"But-"

"Amber," Gordie already began, followed by snickers from Teddy and Chris. "Have you ever done _it_?"

"Yeah, once." I calmly answered.

"What?" Teddy screamed.

"Yeah…it wasn't good though,"

"When?" Chris questioned.

"I was like, eleven. You guys act like you're all shocked. Jeeze, haven't you guys…" I cut myself off, looking all around at all of them. They were silent and I realized none of them had ever had sex.

"Oh, I just assumed…"

"Ooh, more experienced women…" Teddy nudged me and smirked, kissing my cheek.

"Yeah, but it was a mistake and I don't wanna do it again," What I said was true. I didn't want to do it with that boy again but I knew Teddy and I would but it would mean something this time.

"Oh…" Teddy's face fell and I kissed his cheek and put my lips to his ear. "Don't worry, I'll still do it with you 'cause I love you and you actually mean something to me," I felt Teddy smile and he kissed me.

"Go get a room," Gordie complained. Chris had a blank look on his face. Ever since Teddy and I started dating, he'd been acting differently. I needed to talk to him, alone.

"Was it scary?" Vern suddenly blurt out.

"I'm not about to give out details about having sex for the first time Vern-o…" I laughed.

"I was just curious,"

"Well go ask some hoe to have sex with you and then you'll know," I joked. Vern crossed his arms and frowned.

"Vern, don't be like that," I said, annoyed. He ignored me and continued frowning.

"Ugh. Fine. It was, weird. Not scary. Weird. And it's not as good as everyone thinks it is…okay? Happy now fuck face?" He smiled and nodded. Chris shook his head, annoyed with Vern. Teddy held my hand and squeezed it. Whenever he did that, I knew he wanted to be alone with me. And the best thing was that my parents were gone for the entire weekend at some beer festival way up north. What a perfect thing. Teddy and I had done stuff but hadn't gone all the way yet, but I had a feeling this was going to be the weekend. It was only Friday so we still had all of tonight, Saturday, and Sunday. Things were bound to happen…they just were.


	13. Vern's Mistake and One Crazy Party

"Uhm Amber…" Vern blurt out. "I, uhm, kinda made a mistake and told a bunch of people that you were having a party tonight…"

"Dude! What the fuck?" I screamed, whacking him on the arm. He flinched away, yelling, "I'm sorry! There's just this girl I _really_ like and I wanted, I wanted her to go so I could be with her!" I lowered my hand and studied Vern.

"Maybe a party won't be so bad..?" Teddy suggested.

"Who's this chick Vern-o?" Chris asked, nudging him with a grin.

"Abigail Richardson,"

"Awh! Vern has a crush!" Gordie teased.

"I'm sorry Amber, I-I just want what you and Teddy have…" Vern mumbled. I laid a hand on him lightly and smiled.

"Just know now, its not gonna be the best party ever," I answered and Vern's face lit up.

"Thank you so much Amber!" He squealed and hugged me.

"You owe me,"

"Well looks like we've got plans for tonight now," Gordie piped up. We all nodded with sly smiles.

"Well, I better get on home and get ready for this party and since you planned it Vern, you get to help!" I instructed, grabbing Vern and pulling him along.

"I gotta see this…" Teddy laughed and followed after us.

*Chris' POV*

Great, this was just great. Vern wanted a girl to have a fucking relationship just like Amber and Teddy.

"So Chris, you comin' tonight?" Gordie asked. No. I really did not want to see Amber and Teddy all over each other. It was hard enough just to see them holding hands.

"I don't think so," I muttered.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not like you've got anything else better to do tonight!"

"I just don't really feel like going to a party tonight, okay?"

"Dude, c'mon. It'll be fun! Why don't you wanna go?"

"I just don't want to!" I spat. "Alright!" I normally never got upset with Gordie but he just kept pushing it.

"Chris, what's wrong? You've been acting different." Gordie commented. What _wasn't_ wrong? His heart was broken and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. I felt my eyes welt up with tears and covered my face with my arms.

"Chris…"

"Gordie, I love her…and I can't do shit about it!" I cried. "You don't know how hard it is just to sit and watch as Teddy holds her and kisses her. I feel like a real person with an actual purpose whenever I'm with her and I can't even tell her how I feel!" Gordie was now right next to me, rubbing my arm.

"Chris, its okay man…things will work out for the best, trust me," Gordie promised.

*Third Person POV*

People began showing up at Amber's house around seven thirty, not knowing if they had the correct address. Amber just sat on the couch, counting as the people continued to pile in. As more people arrived, the crazier the party grew. Amber pushed people out of the way, struggling to find Vern, with Teddy trailing behind her trying to keep up with her.

"Vern," She screamed, pulling him to face her. "How many fricken' people did you invite!"

"Not this many!" Vern shouted, panicking.

"Word gets out pretty fast, huh?" Teddy joked. Amber glared at him, just to see a bunch of older teenagers come lunging in with buckets full of alcohol.

"Whoa!" Amber hollered. "Guys, no booze!" Teddy took Amber's hand and pulled her back towards him before she could go confront the ones with all the alcohol. He wrapped an arm around her and said, "Amber, calm down. Everything'll be fine. Just have a beer or two and relax," Amber sighed. Teddy was right. She needed to chill out and just enjoy the night.

By the time Gordie and Chris arrived, Amber's house was full of people. After finally hunting down Amber, Gordie hollered, "Amber! Who the fuck are all these people?" Amber shrugged and finished off her first beer. Teddy was holding her close to him and observed Chris, who was awkwardly standing next to Gordie. Gordie glanced over at Chris and then over to Teddy.

"Hey Teddy, can you come show me where all the drinks are?" Gordie asked. Teddy nodded, removing his hands from Amber. Gordie and Teddy disappeared down a hallway as Chris and Amber stood, staring at each other.

"Amber," Chris finally croaked. "Can we talk? You know, in private?"

"Sure, let's go to my room," They climbed the stairs with many thought racing through each of their minds. When Chris closed the door, she knew this was going to be bad. Amber hopped down onto the bed as Chris paced slowly back and forth.

"Amber, there's a lot I've been meaning to tell you," Chris started.

"So tell me," Amber burst in. Chris nodded his head and continued.

"Well, this is all really hard to say but, just the way Teddy looks at you with such love and beauty; I don't think I could keep my mouth shut any longer…" Amber narrowed her eyes and whispered, "What are you trying to say, Chris?"

"Amber," He walked towards her. "I think I'm in love with you," Amber was dumbfounded and just stared back at him.

"Chris, you can't be in love with me-"

"But I _am_! I couldn't just keep my feelings inside anymore! You don't know how difficult it is to have to bite your tongue every time you see the person that makes you happy in life, playing tonsil hockey with one of your best friends!"

"Chris, I-I…" She stammered but before she could say anything else, Chris' lips were against hers. Amber was shocked but didn't pull away right away. But, the way Chris' mouth felt against hers suddenly felt wrong and dirty. She pushed on Chris' chest, removing her lips from his and stared at him.

"Chris, what the fuck did you just do? I'm dating _Teddy_! Not you. I mean, don't get me wrong, dating you would be incredible but there's just something about Teddy that drives my heart crazy. I love Teddy and he loves me. I'm flattered but, I just can't be with you."

"But Amber," He grabbed onto her as she stood. Tears were forming in his eyes. "Please, I love you too much…just give me a chance!" Amber shook her head and muttered, "I need another beer," before leaving Chris in her room.

The Cobras showed up to the party around midnight, wanting to know what the big deal was, but they soon saw as soon as they passed the alcohol. The party was raging and everybody was screaming and hollering. Amber and Teddy were on the couch together, smoking a few cigarettes with Amber downing another beer. She had had so many that by now, she had lost count. Chris was a good distance away from them but his eyes glued directly on them. The Cobras made their way over to where Teddy and Amber were and smirked when they saw the familiar girl.

"Hey Amber," Ace called out. Chris grew angrier and stood as soon as he saw Ace.

"That fucker," Chris growled in a low voice.

"Leave us alone," Teddy warned, keeping his eyes on Ace.

"What? I was just saying hello to a cute girl," Eyeball snickered but Billy and Charlie were silent, looking all around.

"Oh, hey Ace!" Amber yelled and Ace smiled, moving closer.

"Can't you understand English Ace? I said beat it!" Teddy repeated laying an arm across Amber. Chris was now walking over towards them, glaring.

"Don't start, Duchamp." Eyeball scolded. Chris was now taping Ace's shoulder and said, "Get out of here," Ace smirked and replied, "And what are _you_ gonna do about it?" Chris the lifted his shirt up a bit, revealing the familiar gun. Ace's face went pale immediately but he didn't lose his tone, "We haven't forgotten…" and with that, The Cobras exited the house, snatching a few extra beers.

"Jeeze Chris, where'd you get that?" Amber slurred.

"I can look out for my own girlfriend; I don't need your help." Teddy snapped to Chris.

"The hell you didn't." Chris protested. Teddy stood up, directly in front of Chris and growled, "I don't need your god damn help, Chambers," and pushed him. Amber stood up just as Chris shoved Teddy back with even more force. Soon they were all out fighting with a mob formed around them, cheering, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Even though Amber was drunk off her ass, she knew what was happening and knew she needed to break up the fight.

"Guys! Knock it off!" She yelled, pulling Teddy back just as Gordie approached and yanked Chris back. "You guys are _best friends_! You're not supposed to fucking fight like this! What's the matter with you two? You guys are always fighting! Just, _STOP_! 'Cause if you don't, neither one of you will EVER hear from me ever again!" Amber knew exactly what to say because she knew it meant something personally to each boy. They then looked at each other and frowned. Chris was the first to apologize because everyone knew how bad Teddy's temper was.

"I'm sorry Teddy…skin it." Chris held up his hand and Teddy skinned it saying, "Yeah me too, sorry."

"Good," Amber sighed and Teddy kissed her cheek. Chris found his way through the crowd and sulked away with Gordie following after him.

"I'm going home,"

"Me too, this party blows," Gordie lied just to make Chris feel better.

By two AM, everybody was hammered drunk, everyone except Teddy, who still felt the need to protect Amber. She hung all over him, kissing his neck and rubbing her hands all over him.

"Teddy," She whispered in his ear, running her fingers through his hair. "Let's go up to my room…_alone_." Teddy agreed and they entered, closing the door. Amber flung herself at him but he pushed her away.

"Amber, no…" He interrupted, pulling himself from her. "You're drunk."

"So?" She giggled, trying to remove her shirt.

"We're not having sex for the first time when you're like this!" Amber slowed and stared at him.

"So you're just going to reject me?" Teddy shook his head and sat down with her on the bed.

"Amber, I love you, so I want our first time to be _special_…not something worthless and something you won't remember…" Teddy explained, kissing her forehead. Amber's feelings instantly switched from mad to heart-warmed. Teddy was just looking out for her, he was so sweet.

"I love you so much Teddy Duchamp," She whispered, pulling closer to him. He snickered and wrapped his arms around her.

"So in another view, you're not ready?" Amber joked, smiling.

"Oh no…I've been ready…trust me," He reassured. She shook her head and snuggled in closer to Teddy. The sounds from below them grew quieter and quieter until the noise was completely faded and they were both sound asleep.


	14. Reality Check

Amber's house was a disaster the following morning, with dozens of plastic cups everywhere and garbage piled up against all the walls.

"Damn," was the first thing that Amber mumbled as she walked downstairs, with her head pounding and stomach in knots.

"Some party," Teddy added, kicking a few cups.

"You gotta help me clean all this is up, please."

"Of course, but Vern's getting his ass over here and helping us…stupid jerk," Teddy answered, placing an arm around Amber.

Monday morning arrived quickly and Amber had made the house spot-less the night before. She fixed herself a bowl of cereal and headed for school. As she passes Chris' house, she heard yelling and a loud crash. She slowed and began studying the house next door. More screaming and then Chris bolted out the front door, his face bleeding. He stormed down the steps and finally noticed her and grew still.

*Amber's POV*

"Chris," I said. "Are you okay?" He continued walking towards me and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm used to it." He wiped his nose which was dripping a little blood.

"Shit," I said quietly as he smiled.

"C'mon, let's go to school…" I nodded and we began walking. I needed to talk to him about Friday night. Things were all twisted around and it needed to be fixed.

"Chris," I croaked. "We gotta talk about what happened Friday," He looked over at me and suddenly kissed me. I jerked back from him immediately and frowned.

"Chris, no! You can't keep fucking doing that!" I screamed. His face fell but I didn't care; he needed to hear this.

"Amber, I-" He stammered. But I cut him off.

"Chris seriously! Dude, you know how much you mean to me but shit, I _love_ Teddy and you need to get over me!" I yelled. His face grew pale and I felt guilt. I calmed down and loosened my tone.

"Dude, I know that you like me, but I'm in love with someone else. You need to realize all of this and forget about me," I took his hand. "You're gonna make some girl real happy someday. It's just, not gonna be me. Chris, I love you but like a brother. You're so sweet and funny and I don't wanna lose you over something like this. Our friendship is something too big to throw away." He was silent. Then, tears began falling from his eyes and he whimpered, "I'm so sorry Amber!" I pulled him into a hug and held his head.

"No," I whispered. "Don't be sorry, it'll be fine." I hadn't realized it, but by now, _I_ was crying.

"I'm so sorry I tried to ruin everything with you and Teddy!" He cried.

"Chris, it's okay. But look at the bright side," I looked directly at his face. His eyes were all red and puffy, tear soaked. "You can find a girl that you deserve who will treat you amazing! Chris you deserve the best and one day, she'll come." I don't know why but that brought even more tears to both of us. He hugged me tighter and we cried.

"Amber, I really do love you. I'm sorry I almost messed up everything you had with Teddy." Chris said after we were calmer.

"I love you too but it's a different love than how I love Teddy…you know that, right?" I joked. He smiled and replied, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've got that," I smiled back.

"So are we good now?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm better now." He sighed. "Sorry again."

"Its fine," I answered. "Now come one, we're already late for school Chambers," I mentioned, pulling him to his feet. He smiled and I recognized that smile. It was that same smile I saw so many months ago. When Chris flashed me that smile, I just knew things were going to be alright between us.

As the weeks passed, Chris became more like himself and finally accepted the fact that I was with Teddy and had no interest of letting him go. Teddy and I grew closer everyday and I knew we were about to do _it_ sometime soon.

"Sometime soon" came sooner than I had expected. It was a chilly December day and Teddy and I were sipping hot chocolate in Teddy's room "working on homework". We were under Teddy's covers, kissing each other and giggling. I wanted to be so close to him so I put my lips to his ear and whispered, "Teddy, let's do it," He pulled back, grinning and responded, "Really?" I nodded and suddenly we began removing clothing. Teddy and I were home alone so it's not like we had anything to worry about.

He kissed my chest and I yanked off my bra and underwear. Teddy remained in his boxers, letting his hands roam and explore all over my bare body. His touch was gentle.

"Amber, I love you so much," He said as he kissed my neck. I half-smiled and giggled, "I love you too," reaching my hands down to his underwear and pulling them off. I felt his penis and took a hold of it, giving him a hand job. I thought I did pretty well, considering it was my first one. Teddy then rolled on top of me and stared down. He smiled and took his glasses off.

"No," I commanded. "Put 'em on. I like them. They make you look even hotter." He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? I'll guess I'll keep them on then," He answered, placing them back onto his face. I smiled and he smiled back.

"Okay, are you ready now? You just gotta tell me if I'm hurting you because-"

"Teddy, c'mon. Let's just, start."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Then, we began. I knew somewhat of what it was supposed to feel like but with Teddy, you never know what to expect. I felt him entering me and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling myself closer. Then, he was all the way in. It didn't hurt all that much but then Teddy began groaning and more pain arrived. Then more pleasure filled my body and I didn't want it to end. I dug my nails into his back and I softly moaned. We each grew louder until we were both moaning and wailing and then we both slowed and all the pleasure was quickly over. We lay onto our backs, trying to grasp our breaths.

"So how was that?" He suddenly asked.

"Not bad for a kid." I joked, taking his hands in mine.

"I really love you Amber, I hope you know that."

"And I love you too Teddy. I hope I never lose you." He kissed me and we lay in each other's arms.

In books and movies, people are always saying that you have to be mentally as well as physically ready for sex or love making. They always say wait until you truly feel you're matured enough and then go for it. They also always say doing it at fourteen isn't old enough but who the fuck are they to tell me I can't? People would always look down upon someone having sex at such a young age but I say fuck them. They don't know anything about Teddy and me. I felt no regret for making love to Teddy that day, 'nor will I ever. Teddy is the one I love and everybody that sees it differently can just go look the other way.


	15. Drunken Teddy Duchamp

**Author's note: This chapter was from personal experiences that me and ForeverSmiles have both decided to put these ideas into a chapter in each of our Stand By Me stories. So no, we did NOT copy each other we both agreed to use these ideas. Don't forget to REVIEW! Thaanks.(: **

ONE YEAR LATER

One year has gone by, but everyone still remains the same. Teddy and I are madly in love, Chris has moved on and is currently dating the new girl Madison Maywell, Vern had recently broken up with Abigail, and Gordie is continuing to write his stories while his parents slowly recover from Denny.

It was a boring autumn night when we were all sitting in Vern's basement.

"Guys, this blows…we should throw a party or something," Chris complained, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, we should!" Gordie agreed.

"Yeah, I wonder if I could convince my parents into letting us drink…" Vern smiled.

"Well even they say no, I'm still goin' drinking!" Teddy exclaimed. Vern rolled his eyes as he ran up the stairs.

"Vern's parents are pretty cool. I'm sure they'll be fine with this." Gordie stated.

"Yeah, it's not like anything bad is gonna happen," Chris agreed. Teddy and I nodded and Vern ran back down the stairs.

"Guys, my parents said we can go drink as long as we're not goin' anywhere and we all stay overnight here!" Vern yelled, excitedly.

"SHIT YEAH!" Teddy hollered and we all raced towards the fridge containing all the booze. We all grabbed dozens of bottle of alcohol and sprinted up the stairs, jumping outside.

By midnight, there were tons of empty beer bottles lying all around and we were all sitting around the fire pit, swearing and joking with each other.

*Third person POV*

Everyone was just beginning to get drunk and it affected everyone differently. It was quite funny actually. Chris had given Madison a buzz and she had showed up a few minutes ago, claiming she would only have a drink or two because she had work the next day.

Vern's parents peeked their heads out the back door and called out, "Okay guys, keep it quiet and no messing around too much." Chris turned to them and replied, "Don't worry Mr. Tessio; I'll make sure they all stay in line." Mr. Tessio nodded and replied, "Alright Chris, I trust you." Chris nodded as Vern's father closed the door and turned the lights off inside the house.

"Hey Chambers, give me another shot of that blue stuff!" Teddy pleaded, pointing to the half empty bottle. He passed it over to him while Amber was cheering on Vern to chug the rest of his beer. Gordie was cracking up, already completely wasted.

A few minutes later, Chris looked over to the pool and snapped his head back towards all his friends.

"We should all go skinny dipping you guys!" He exclaimed, slamming his drink down on the table.

"Calm down," Madison said, laughing.

"Sorry, but we should!" Teddy rose to his feet and grinned.

"Let's do it!" He screamed, pulling his shirt off and throwing it on the ground.

"Hell yeah!" Gordie repeated, throwing his shirt halfway across the yard. Chris laughed and looked over to Vern.

"How 'bout it Vern-o?" He asked. Amber stood and stumbled slightly to her left and Teddy grabbed her. She ripped her shirt off and tossed it. Madison laughed.

"I don't know…we can't be that loud," Vern thought.

"Hey, it's your house man, if you don't want us to, we won't." Chris reassured. Vern shook his head and said, "No, let's go."

"Awesome!" Chris yelled, removing his shirt. "Who's goin' in first?" Everyone was silent, looking at each other. Teddy began unbuckling his belt and started taking off his pants.

"Well, are we goin' or not?" He called out sipping another cup.

"I think so," Chris said.

"I would go in first but as soon as I get naked you fuckers aren't gonna do it!" Vern complained.

"Yeah we will!" Gordie affirmed.

"Ugh." Teddy mumbled and began waddling around with his pants around his ankles, his belt scratching against the patio.

"Teddy," Amber cried. "Just take your pants off already, that noise is annoying as fuck!" He smirked and kicked them off. Amber smiled and replied, "Thank you,"

"C'mon guys, someone just get in," Vern mumbled now that everyone was just in their boxers, with Amber in her bra and panties.

"Fuck this," Teddy muttered and began hauling odd his underwear revealing his bare butt. "I'm goin' in, unlike you pussies!" And with that, Teddy splashed into the water laughing: Eeee-eee-eeeee!

"My turn!" Amber called out, throwing off her undergarments, running straight over to the pool. She didn't care about being completely nude in front of all of them because she knew none of them would even think about doing anything to her with Teddy around.

"CANNON BALL!" She screamed and splashed into the water.

"Screw you guys, I'm goin' in too!" Chris stated and took off his boxers, sprinting to jump on.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Vern laughed, removing his underwear.

"Madison, you coming in too?" Gordie asked, as Vern hopped into the pool. She shook her head smiling.

"Who else is gonna make sure you guys don't make too much noise?" She smiled.

"That's true," Gordie admitted and went off for the pool with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

Everyone was goofing off and laughing hysterically but also keeping their distance from one another. Whenever someone came too close to Amber, Teddy warned, "I'm kickin' ass," which made them all laugh even more. They all continued taking giant gulps from the bottle, especially Teddy.

"Shit Vern!" Chris yelled. "Keep your chili pepper way from my ass!"

"As long as you keep your pin needle dick away from mine!" Vern fought back snickering.

"Keep your dicks to yourselves homos!" Gordie teased, sipping the almost empty bottle once more.

"Let's play volleyball!" Teddy suggested, holding the ball.

"Yeah," Amber agreed, putting her upper body out of the water, revealing her chest.

"Okay, as long as you don't mind us all seeing your girlfriend's tits," Chris snickered. Teddy snapped his head towards Amber and then threw the ball at Chris mumbling, "Fuckin' pervert," Gordie almost died of laughter which just proved how drunk he was.

"Hey guys, keep it a little quieter over there," Madison called out.

"Sorry!" Gordie replied in a loud whisper.

After a few more minutes of splashing around, Vern and Gordie decided to get out because they wanted to eat and get dressed. Amber, Teddy, and Chris all passed around the alcohol until it was nearly empty. Chris then pushed off from one side of the pool to the other.

"Dude!" He cried out, laughing. "You gotta try that! It feels so good on your dick man!"

"Really?" Teddy grinned.

"Yeah!" Teddy then did the same and came up for air.

"It does, dude!"

"I wish I had a dick so I could feel it…" Amber laughed.

"You can feel mine," Teddy snickered, moving closer to Amber. She smiled and shook her head. He sighed heavily into her face and she pushed away.

"Ugh. Teddy, I'm gonna blow in _your_ face and see how you like it!" She joked.

"I know something else you can blow on…" Teddy laughed. Chris followed and Amber roller her eyes.

"I have goosebumps! Feel!" Amber said, changing the subject.

"Look at my big goosebump," Chris replied, cracking up with an odd laugh and Teddy began laughing loudly.

"Teddy, shush," Madison wailed.

"Yeah, calm down a bit," Vern echoed.

"NOOO!" He screamed back, smiling. They rolled their eyes at him. Amber laughed and along with Chris. Teddy then began jumping up and down in the water with his crotch slightly moving above the water.

"Eww, dude! I don't wanna see your pubes Teddy!" Chris yelled.

"Nooo! How do you know my name?" He screamed. "You're not my drill instructor!" Teddy was a bit too drunk and things weren't going so smoothly in his head.

"TEDDY!" Vern whisper-yelled. "Shut the hell up man!"

"Ahh, I'm drowning!" Teddy yelled, going under the water with his arms flying everywhere.

"Teddy, c'mon, chill out." Amber said, pulling Teddy close to her.

"NOOO!"

"Teddy, you gotta be a little quieter…do it for Vern," Chris said.

"Oh, VERN! I love him! He's like my brother! I'd take a bullet for him!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's why you need to be quiet Teddy, 'cause Vern might get in trouble because it's really late and you're being too loud." Amber whispered.

"Oh, okay. Sorry." He whispered back. But it didn't stay that way for too long because Teddy was soon splashing all around again, hollering, "We must fight off the enemy!" and imitated guns.

"TEDDY! Get the fuck out the pool or go home!" Vern screamed. He was livid.

"Teddy, get out _now_!" Gordie commanded.

"Nooo!" Teddy kept yelling, splashing around.

"Teddy, c'mon, we're getting out now." Amber pulled him to the ladder and he tried to pull away but Chris was holding him from behind and they forced him out.

"Teddy, put your goddamn underwear on," Gordie insisted, handing them to him.

"NO! I don't want them!" He slurred and threw them.

"Teddy, goddammit! Put your fucking boxers on!" Vern hollered. Teddy gave him a face but did as he wanted. Teddy then began walking all around, picking up empty bottles and tossing them all around.

"Teddy," Amber pleaded. "Calm down,"

"We must fight off these enemies!" He barked out and began crawling on his stomach across the grass. He got to his feet quickly and pretended to be shooting another person.

"Ahhh!" He screamed and ran right towards the fence, crashing into it and collapsing.

"Holy shit…" Madison whispered, frightened.

"Just leave him there! I don't even fucking care anymore," Vern demanded.

"Teddy," Chris bellowed. "Stop it!" He began walking over to Teddy and grabbed his shoulders, holding him still. Teddy began screaming and yelling like he was being tortured. Vern and Gordie ran over to help Chris calm Teddy down, his bloody murder screams echoing throughout the silent neighborhood. Madison began crying and freaking out. Amber wrapped an arm around her, telling her everything was going to be just fine and that they could take care of it.

"Obviously they _can't_ handle it!" Madison wailed.

"C'mon, let's go inside…" Amber suggested and Madison agreed.

"Just sit down, relax, and have some water." Amber urged, handing her a water bottle. Teddy's screams were audible through the house and Amber hoped the boys would be able to handle Teddy. Amber was drunk but she knew when things got out of control.

"Stay here. I'm gonna go check on them," Amber stated and left the room, heading towards the backyard.

"…you're a fucking soldier! Start acting like one! Don't disrespect your men!" Chris was hollering into Teddy's face.

"NO!" Teddy was crying. "I've been captured! I cant-I can't go on!"

"Yes you can! You're Corporal Teddy Duchamp! You are a _soldier_! You can do anything!" Chris repeated. He was holding Teddy by his shoulders with the help of Gordie and Vern keeping him still. Teddy fell down onto the grass, bawling his eyes out and Amber walked towards them.

"Guys," She whispered. "Can I talk to him?" All their heads snapped towards her and slowly, they began nodding. "Chris, go check on Madison."

"Oh shit," He muttered as he stumbled back to the house.

"Teddy?" She questioned, kneeling down next to him, placing a hand on his back. "It's Amber. You remember me?" His response was muffled but it was a "yes".

"You are the strongest soldier I have ever met. You're Corporal Theodore Duchamp; you're the one that protects everything dear to us. You've gotten me through everything Teddy. You're so strong and you need you prove yourself a soldier right now and quit disrespecting the Army." Teddy looked up to Amber and wiped his face quickly.

"Yes m'am." He said with a serious face. He stood and lent her an arm to get up and they walked towards Vern, Gordie, and Chris who had now brought Madison back outside.

"I am sorry I have failed you men. I have disgraced myself, all of you, and most of all, The Army. Corporal Teddy Duchamp is now at your service." Teddy stated to all of them. Everyone exhaled and relaxed, knowing Teddy was calm and quiet.

"I think it's time to go crash…" Chris blurt out and everyone agreed, walking into Vern's house. Teddy and Amber went into another room and everyone else just stood there.

"Teddy really _will_ be a great soldier…" Vern softly said.

"The very best," Gordie smiled.

"How does she do it?" Madison questioned. Everyone turned towards Madison and shrugged.

"They just, understand each other…" Chris explained with a half-smile. And with that, everyone walked off ready to get some sleep.


	16. Amber's Five Year Old

**Hey everyone! Sorry this took me so long to update! I have been SO busy this past week! But I managed to write two chapters! WOOT!(: So after this chapter, there are only going to be 2 more chapters. Sadness. But, I hope you've all still remember what's going on! Don't forget to REVIEW! Thanks!(:**

Everybody was completely frazzled the morning following the party. All their heads were pounding and they all felt as sick as dogs. Amber and Teddy were slowly waking up, lying in a bed in some room. Teddy rubbed his eyes and mumbled, "Amber, what the fuck happened last night?"

"You went crazy," Amber yawned. Teddy shoved his glasses onto his noise and studied the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"You were freaking out last night, all yelling and shit. I'm surprised the cops didn't show up." Teddy's lip remained in a straight line and he grew still.

"Teddy," Amber laid a hand on his arm. "It's fine. They didn't come so don't worry."

"What else did I do?" Teddy flatly asked, keeping his face the same.

"Nothing, I calmed you down." Amber smiled reassuringly. He sighed and looked away. "Teddy, everything was fine. Seriously. Vern's parents don't know shit about what happened. It's okay." Amber pulled his face towards hers and took his cheek in her palm.

"I'm sorry Amber," He breathed. She smiled.

"It's actually sorta fun, taking care of you…even if it _is_ like babysitting a five year old. But that's okay! You can be _my_ five year old." Amber smiled and planted a kiss on Teddy's cheek.

"Oh yeah, 'cause that makes me feel a whole lot better," Teddy grunted.

"Oh Teddy, you're so cute when you're all pissy!" Teddy glared back at her and she grinned and then kissed him.

"C'mon, let's go find the others," Amber motioned, yanking his arm and pulling Teddy off the bed.

The couple walked into the kitchen only to find the rest of their friends' heads all on the table, with their bodies completely limp.

"Jeez, are you guys even alive?" Amber laughed. Vern and Chris sat up, glaring but the only movement from Gordie was his arm being lifted only so he could flip Amber the finger. Teddy snickered and Amber rolled her eyes.

"Guys, I don't think I've ever been that drunk," Gordie moaned, slowly bringing his head up and resting it on one hand. Chris dropped a hand on Gordie's hunched shoulder and replied, "I feel 'ya, man."

"I am so goddamn thankful that my parents didn't wake up…or that someone didn't call the Po-Po…" Vern gasped.

"I know right! Teddy, you were fuckin' _crazy _last night!" Chris blubbered.

"Yeah, I think I got the message Chambers," Teddy mumbled, leaning against the countertop.

"Hey," Amber said after sitting on top of the counter and looking around. "Where is everyone, Vern?"

"My mom went to get groceries, my dad went to work, and Billy-well, gives a fuck _where_ he is…" Vern croaked out. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, I think I'm gonna- wait, wasn't Madison here?" Amber said.

"She had to work or whatever, remember?" Chris explained, stretching his arms.

"I'm so goddamn tired! FUCK ME!" Gordie shouted and let his head smack against the table.

"I'll be glad to Gord-o!" Amber explained, laughing. "No, no," She finished off. "I've gotta get on home. I smell…I need to bathe or something."

"Yeah, I can smell you all the way over here," Chris scolded, holding his nose.

"It's probably your own stench Chambers!" Amber snapped back, leaping off the counters and running off for the front door before Chris could think of a come-back. "You comin' Teddy?"

"Yeah," He called out, limping over to her and draping an arm around her waist.

"See you girls later!" Amber called out before they exited the Tessio home.

When Teddy and Amber came back to her house, it was oddly quiet with the car missing from the driveway.

"Ooh Teddy, we have the whole house to ourselves…" Amber wiggled her eyebrows.

"Ooh, yay!" Teddy grinned, wrapping his arms all around her.

By now, the two had had sex countless times and there was nothing weird about doing it now. They sprinted up the stairs and up towards Amber's room, basically ripping their clothes off as soon as the door was shut.

After they were finished making love, they lay together, nude, under Amber's blanket, cuddling.

"Amber, I love you so much. I hope we're together forever. I wanna marry you right now and then we could get out of this town and away from all the bullshit and start our own lives together." Teddy whispered into her ear, kissing it gently. He always said the most heart-felt things after they had sex.

"And then we could make tons of little Teddys and Ambers and raise them as kick-ass parents!" Amber answered, rubbing Teddy's cheek.

"Hell yeah!" They both smirked and Teddy regained focus, keeping his eyes steady. "But seriously. I love you so much Amber. Promise me we'll love each other forever." Amber kissed Teddy and cooed, "Forever and ever."

Later that day, Amber's parents finally came back home and were silent. Teddy and Amber were watching a re-run of Wagon Training when her dad stepped in front of them, staring down at them.

"Can I help you?" Amber snapped. "We're trying to watch-"

"Pack your things. We're moving." Her dad cut her off with his evil tone. Amber's jaw dropped and Teddy remained silent.

"What are you talking about?" Amber slowly replied. Teddy took her hand in his and squeezed a bit too hard.

"What don't you get? Are you deaf? I said we're moving. So pack your shit 'cause we're leavin' Monday!" He thundered.

"Where?"

"Back to Chicago,"

"Well, I'm not going." Amber blurt out. Teddy tightened his grip on her hand. "I shouldn't have to just leave my life behind, here in Castle Rock! I've made friends! That I _love_ and I am not just going to abandon them like that because you and your broke-ass wife can't pay for this crappy house you call a fucking home!" Amber spat out.

You could just see the anger steaming off of her father's face. It was quite frightening, really. Amber suddenly grew scared. Really scared. Terrified. She was going to die. This would be it. He was going to take a knife and stab it throughout her body.

"Teddy," Her fathered growled through gritted teeth. "You ought to be getting home now, son." Teddy was frightened and at first didn't budge until Amber whispered in his ear, "Don't worry. I'll be fine." She wasn't even fully convinced herself with her own words but Teddy nodded and stood. "I love you so much. I won't let anything happen to us. You mean the world to me." She added, pulling him forward and kissing him gently.

"Get your ass home, Duchamp!" Amber's dad yelled and pulled Teddy out. The door slammed in his face but Teddy remained still. He wouldn't go home. He'd get Chris from next-door and they'd wait, across the street, for a few hours before going to check on Amber. Everything was going to be just fine. Teddy had taught Amber a few ways to block herself from punches and kicks. She was tough, she could handle it. But even those thoughts didn't calm Teddy's nerves.


	17. Never Ending Emotions

**So this is probably one of my favorite chapters in this entire story. :D Only one more chapter after this one! D: But please do not forget to REVIEW! It makes my day guys! Thanks!(:**

*Amber's POV*

I ran a finger across the large cut on my thigh and whimpered. It had been bad. Real bad. My dad had taken out a knife but he simply dragged it across my flesh, which wasn't much better. I could feel the cuts and wounds bleeding and every bone and muscle in my body felt weakened. Everything hurt.

I pressed my face into my pillow, trying to silence my sobs. Dad and Mom were long asleep but my cried echoed throughout my room.

"Holy shit! Amber!" Teddy whispered loudly, climbing through my window.

"Teddy?" I cried, looking all around.

"Amber!" Chris' voice rang out. "It's us!" Teddy's body was immediately next to mine. I flinched away, fearing for more pain but his touch had a soothing feel and I let my body melt into his.

"Amber! Are you alright?" Chris' strong words filled my ears and then he was right beside me, opposite to Teddy.

"Oh Teddy," I sobbed. "It was horrible, Chris-" I couldn't finish a sentence. My tears flew out and I couldn't calm down. Teddy stroked my hair and kissed my cheek.

"I'm gonna kill that basterd," Chris threatened, standing.

"You're not gonna do shit!" Teddy snapped. "You're going to sit here and make her feel better!" Chris thought this over and then plopped back down, rubbing a hand on my back. I wiped my face and caught my breath, looking up at my two best friends.

"Guys, I have to move. He's forcing me. Y-you don't understand. It's _Chicago_! 2,000-fucking-miles away you guys! I-I don't know what I'm gonna do!" I cried even harder and buried my face into Teddy's chest.

"I'm never gonna see you guys ever again…" I sobbed harder and felt my heart literally snapping into pieces.

"Yes. Yes you will." Teddy answered. He pulled my chin up to look at me and smiled. He never admitted it, but I could see tears covering his face. "I don't care how I get to Chicago, but I swear to God I will. I'll hitch-hike, I'll ride my bike, hell, I'll even ride atop some random car like the deer do! I'll find a way to you, so help me God." And then he kissed me. And for that moment, I knew he wasn't lying. He was being true to his word.

"Shit yeah! I'll even climb in the back of Ace's car if I have to!" Chris added. I smiled and laughed. How did I manage to find the wackiest but best friends in the world?

"I love you guys so much, sincerely." I whispered. I then kissed Teddy and then kissed Chris, both on the cheek. "Even if we don't keep in touch, God forbid, just know now, you guys are the best friends I will ever have." I admitted. Nobody would ever be able to compare to my four best friends: Christopher Chambers, Gordon Lachance, Vern Tessio, and mainly, Theodore Duchamp.

Later that night, Vern and Gordie climbed up into my room and we all stayed awake, goofing off and making jokes, until dawn arrived. As crazy as it sounds, it was the best time any of us all have ever had together.

Teddy remained longer after the rest of the gang returned for home. He held me and sang me soft songs. His kisses were sweet, loving, and gentle.

"Teddy, I fucking love you so much. Nothing is going to ever change my mind about you. I'll love you no matter what happens." I said and kissed his temple. He rubbed my cheek with his thumb and smiled back at me.

"Amber," He whispered. "I'll love you until my heart stops but even then, you'll have my heart."

"Forever?" I questioned, tears filling my eyes. His lips grazed mine.

"Forever and ever."


	18. Five best friends together again

**Hey guys! This is the last chapter in Golden Silence. I hope you've all enjoyed reading the story! Please tell me your thoughts on the story and the ending by REVIEWING. Oh, and by the way, the inspiration for this chapter was from a song called 'Somewhere only we know' by Keane. Go search up the song and listen to it. You'll understand this chapter even better then! Well, to the last chapter now…(:**

I flipped the piece of paper between my fingers, sighed heavily, and exited my car. I slammed the car door shut and breathed through my nose, with my eyes scanning the scene.

It had been ten years since I had left Castle Rock and this was thCe first time I was stepping foot in it once again. Everything looked the same but yet, somewhat different. The reason I returned was because I got invited to attend my old principal's funeral, Mr. Haralson. My mouth formed into a half grin as I remembered the food fight and how he went nuts, screaming at all of us. He had died of a sudden heart attack a few days ago and all his students had the chance to come to his funeral but of course, about only one third of them would actually show. And I only actual reason I came, was to see Castle Rock and more importantly, the boys.

Teddy and Chris had kept their promises. They _did_ try to get to me in Chicago. Once we settled back in Chicago, my parents began ignoring me and I pulled myself away from them. School was a bust because I didn't want to make any new friends. I had all the friends I would need. Every so often, I'd come back home from school to find Teddy sitting on my front step. At first I figured I was just imagining him but he noticed me and we finally met up, kissing and holding each other tightly But, as the years continued on, I'd see less and less of him. He'd call and write letters explaining how much he missed me but that never compared to when he was actually with me. Gordie would always be writing letters (Well, he was an author, right?) telling me how they all were doing and that they all missed me so much. Chris would visit from time to time with new wounds from his dad and he'd call here and there. Vern would try to call but always ended up getting off the line quickly because there was a "hot new babe" we just _had_ to talk to.

The last time I had heard from any of them was well over two months ago. It was a letter from Teddy and it was rather short. He briefly told me about the Army rejecting him and that he would keep on trying. He told me he loved me and promised he would try to come visit soon.

If they were all here today at the funeral, it would be first time I'd see them all together again in over five years. God, I had missed them.

I decided to take a walk throughout the small town, remembering where everything was exactly. The town was quiet and nobody was out. It was empty and peaceful. I stood in the center of Main Street and remembered the nights Teddy and I would sneak out and just sit right in the middle of the road, not caring if any cars approached. We'd sit and talk about everything.

I exhaled and smiled. It was great to be back. I wandered through many more streets and then came along a familiar scene. Weeds covered the ground, all over grown and standing a good three feet off the Earth. The tree looked weak and had pieces of bark missing. I made my way towards it, not caring if my black pants got dirty. I laid a hand on the ladder leading up into the worn tree house. _Our_ tree house. My body jittered with excitement as I climbed, pushing the hatch open and pulling myself inside. My eyes moved all over the place. It looked exactly the same. Bubblegum wrappers lay all around, cigarettes were now rotted and covered the ground, a few old crime magazines were ripped and scattered all across the place, and a few cards were piled on top of the table. The wood had a slight weakened feel to it, but it was still managing to hang on.

I sat down in my spot and I could almost hear the voices of my friends. Their laughter, their jokes, their complaining. It was all here, in this tree house. This is where everything happened. So many memories lay in the walls of this house and I realized, this was more of a home to me than anything. I pushed away the few droplets that were making their way down my cheeks.

I remained like that for a few more minutes before I decided to go find all of out old houses. I climbed back down, out of the mini house and stopped before heading back the way I came. I placed a hand on the old tree and ran my fingers across a giant heart containing both Teddy's and my initials. He had carved that one night when were bored and felt the need to express our love for each other to a tree. It was cheesy but it was special and I had never forgotten it. I smiled and continued my way back into town. I knew the pathway like the back of my hand. And as I walked back towards my house, I felt the old tree, containing the tree house, watching me and remembering everything that we five did in that house and it smiled at me.

I kicked a small pebble across the street as I came across a familiar house. It was mine. I made my way over to it. It looked really bad. It must be abandoned. I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered in through the window. The inside was hollow and looked lifeless. I pulled back from the window and glared up at the house.

"Fucking hell hole," I mumbled and kicked the side. It dented in and dirt brushed off onto my show. I continued mumbling nasty things and then walked off towards Chris' house. It looked just as empty. He probably moved far away from this house. Good. His father should be fucking murdered for hurting Chris so badly. I gritted my teeth and huffed away.

The funeral was at a local funeral home on the north side of Castle Rock. I walked into the small building and there weren't as many people as I had expected. The place was small and cramped. Flowers of all kinds where placed on every table and the walls were painted a light cream color. The place reeked of death and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I ran a hand over my dark colored blouse and walked further into the building. Muffled voices were creeping from the back and I walked towards them. The hallway was dark and I felt chills run through my body. I passed a dark room and suddenly, I tripped forward over something. I quickly snapped my head down and saw a black shoe, followed by snickering. I slowly turned around, realizing somebody had just tried to trip me.

"What the hell-" I started but then the person stepped out of the room and into the hallway. "Chris?" I grinned huge and he nodded. I pulled him into a giant hug and held him closely. He squeezed me tightly. His hugs were exactly the way I remembered.

"Chris," I repeated. "I've missed you so much!"

"We have so much to talk about." He answered, smiling. "But c'mon. I've got to show you something." He pulled my arm and began dragging me towards the end of the hallway.

His hair was now grown out longer, a bit past his ears. I had never seen him in a suit so it was a big shock, but I had to admit, he was looking pretty damn good.

Chris pulled me to an open door and went out it, leading to a huge opening where many people swarmed.

"Chris, where are we-Gordie?" I exclaimed when Chris led me to a tall, lean man. He smiled widely and nodded.

"Holy shit! You look so different!" I said, pulling him into a big bear hug.

"I coulda said the same about you!" He answered, grinning.

"You guys, they better start handing out some food soon or I'll-Amber? Amber is that you?" A voice called out from behind us. It was a voice I instantly recognized. I whipped around in a fast motion and yelled, "Vern-o!" He came running over, grinning from ear to ear.

Damn. Vern had changed. His hair was now grown out and he had lost all of his baby fat. He was pretty hot.

"Shit Vern…when did you get so sexy looking?" I joked. He smiled at me before answering, "The same time your tits finally grew in." I looked down at my breasts and then back at him, smiling.

"Thanks for noticing!" I thank.

"God, I sure have missed this," Gordie commented, placing an arm around my shoulders.

"Where's Teddy?" I questioned, looking around.

"He was here a second ago," Vern mumbled, gazing around.

"Well I'll be damned…" A voice said.

"Teddy." I smiled and turned to face him.

"Amber." He mirrored my smile and I ran over and squeezed him tightly, fearing I'd lose him again. He smelled exactly the same. I pulled back to look at him. He was beautiful. His hair looked the same just slightly shorter, but his big glasses remained on his face in front of his brown eyes, and his ear still was waxy looking. We smiled and we stared at each other. Everything I've wanted to tell him must have gotten through to him because all he did was nod his head and kissed me. It had been so long since out lips had touched. It was everything I remembered and I remembered why I fell in love with Teddy in the first place.

"I've missed you so much," Teddy whispered into my ear, making me giggle.

"I love you," I said and he answered, "I love you too,"

"Oh god. Can we leave before Teddy and Amber practically have sex on the grass?" Gordie moaned.

"Oh Gordon, you know you want me to yourself…" Teddy teased, making kissy faces at him.

"Girls, girls! Calm down! How 'out we all go just go some place, somewhere only we know about?" I suggested, with a smile.

"The tree house," Chris said, grinning.

"Hell yeah!" Gordie exclaimed.

"Aren't we all a little, too big for that?" Vern croaked.

"Shit no!" Teddy yelled and everyone snickered. "The tree house holds all of our fondest moments, Vern-o!" Vern thought this over and then we all headed out, basically running for the tree house.

Once the tree house loomed in the distance, I realized I was finally with the four best people I would ever know. Teddy took a hold of my hand and rubbed it, smiling.

"I love you guys so much," I commented.

"C'mon, we have all the time in the world to be all mushy and gushy. Let's go have some fun now!" Chris hollered, racing off towards the tree house with Vern and Gordie. Teddy grinned at me and then kissed me, before racing to catch up with the boys. I stood back and watched as my buddies all rolled around in the dirt. They were my only family and this was our home…a place somewhere only we knew about. And it was perfect.


End file.
